Petrarchan sonnet Italian sonnet form in the poems of his that were not translation and adaptation work. As a result, he is often credited for integrating the Petrarchan sonnet into English vernacular tradition. The form also gave rise to an "anti-Petrarchan" convention which may have revealed the mistress to be ugly and unworthy. The convention was also mocked, or adopted for alternative persuasive means by many of the Inns of Court writers during the Renaissance. The sonnet is split in two groups: the "octave" (of 8 lines) and the "sestet" (of 6 lines), for a total of 14 lines. The octave (the
Petrarchan sonnet first 8 lines) typically introduces the theme or problem using a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA. The sestet (the last 6 lines) provides resolution for the poem and rhymes variously, but usually follows the schemes of CDECDE or CDCCDC. Octave - introduces the theme or problem Sestet - solves the problem Petrarchan sonnet The Petrarchan sonnet is a sonnet form not developed by Petrarch himself, but rather by a string of Renaissance poets. Because of the structure of Italian, the rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet is more easily fulfilled in that language than in English. The original Italian sonnet form