Shakespearean Sonnet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG)

Pattern: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

About

Three quatrains (ABAB CDCD EFEF) followed by a couplet (GG). The couplet delivers a twist or conclusion.

Explanation

The Shakespearean sonnet uses three ABAB quatrains plus a final couplet. This structure allows the poet to develop an argument in three stages, then deliver a punchy conclusion or twist in the final two lines. The form requires seven different rhyme sounds (A, B, C, D, E, F, G), which is easier in English than the Petrarchan sonnet's four sounds. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets in this form, exploring love, beauty, time, and mortality. The key to the Shakespearean sonnet is the couplet. It must do significant work—reversing, resolving, or complicating everything that came before. A weak couplet deflates the entire poem.

Example

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (A)

Thou art more lovely and more temperate: (B)

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A)

And summer's lease hath all too short a date. (B)

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (C)

And often is his gold complexion dimmed; (D)

And every fair from fair sometime declines, (C)

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; (D)

But thy eternal summer shall not fade, (E)

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, (F)

Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, (E)

When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st. (F)

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, (G)

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (G)

— William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

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Writing Tips

  • Plan your three quatrains as stages of an argument. What does each one contribute?
  • The couplet must earn its place. Don't just summarize—transform, reverse, or complicate.
  • Avoid cliche rhymes in the couplet. "Love/above" and "heart/part" are overused.
  • The volta (turn) usually comes at line 13, but you can place smaller turns at lines 5 and 9.
  • Iambic pentameter is traditional. Read Shakespeare aloud to internalize the rhythm.
  • Our Sonnet Checker can verify your structure and rhyme scheme.