Poetic Form Of The Month
Each month, World Poetry Open Mic explores a new poetic form, inviting poets to expand their abilities by both writing and then sharing their work.
Each month, World Poetry Open Mic explores a new poetic form, inviting poets to expand their abilities by both writing and then sharing their work.
January 2020
This month's form is:
Petrarchan Sonnet
The Petrarchan Sonnet is named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch, a lyrical poet of fourteenth-century Italy. Petrarch did not invent the poetic form that bears his name. Rather, the commonly credited originator of the sonnet is Giacomo da Lentini, who composed poetry in the literary Sicilian dialect in the thirteenth century.
The word “sonnet” itself stems from the Italian word “sonetto,” which itself derives from the Latin “suono,” meaning “a sound.” Many Italian poets explored the form, from Dante Alighieri to Michelangelo. Petrarch, considered one of the founding scholars of the Italian Renaissance, likely earned his eponymous credit as a perfecter of the existing sonnet form.
The word “sonnet” itself stems from the Italian word “sonetto,” which itself derives from the Latin “suono,” meaning “a sound.” Many Italian poets explored the form, from Dante Alighieri to Michelangelo. Petrarch, considered one of the founding scholars of the Italian Renaissance, likely earned his eponymous credit as a perfecter of the existing sonnet form.