A sonnet sequence is a group of

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...

s thematically unified to create a long work, although generally, unlike the stanza, each sonnet so connected can also be read as a meaningful separate unit. The sonnet sequence was a very popular genre during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

, following the pattern of

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

. This article is about sonnet sequences as integrated wholes. For the form of individual sonnets, see

Sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...

. Sonnet sequences are typically closely based on Petrarch, either closely emulating his example or working against it. The subject is usually the speaker's unhappy love for a distant beloved, following the

courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing var ...

tradition of the

troubadours A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobai ...

, from whom the genre ultimately derived. An exception is

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for '' The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen o ...

's ''Amoretti'', where the wooing is successful, and the sequence ends with an Epithalamion, a marriage song. Although many sonnet sequences at least pretend to be autobiographical, the genre became a very stylised one, and most sonnet sequences are better approached as attempts to create an erotic

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatr ...

in which

wit Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. Someone witty is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks. Forms of wit include the quip, repartee, and wisecrack. For ...

and

originality Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

plays with the artificiality of the genre. Thus one could regard the emotions evoked to be as artificial as the conventions with which they are presented.

List of Italian sonnet sequences

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

, '' La Vita Nuova'' (ca. 1293, 25 sonnets to Beatrice, with commentaries and other songs) *

, '' Canzoniere'' (mid 14th-century, 227 sonnets to Laura, as well as 89 sonnets to Laura in death)

List of English sonnet sequences

During the late 16th century and early 17th century a large number of sonnet sequences were written in English, the most notable of which include: * Sir Philip Sidney, '' Astrophel and Stella'' (1591), 108 sonnets and 11 songs thought to be addressed to Lady Rich, written between 1580 and 1584. *

, ''

Amoretti ''Amoretti'' is a sonnet cycle written by Edmund Spenser in the 16th century. The cycle describes his courtship and eventual marriage to Elizabeth Boyle. ''Amoretti'' was first published in 1595 in London by William Ponsonby. It was printed as ...

'' (1594), 88 sonnets and an epithalamion addressed to his wife, Elizabeth. *

Samuel Daniel Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late-Elizabethan and early- Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle ''Delia'', the e ...

, ''Delia'' (1592), 50 sonnets. * Michael Drayton, ''Idea's Mirror'' (1594), 64 sonnets to Phoebe; later reworked as ''Idea'' (1619), 73 sonnets. *

Fulke Greville Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, ''de jure'' 13th Baron Latimer and 5th Baron Willoughby de Broke KB PC (; 3 October 1554 – 30 September 1628), known before 1621 as Sir Fulke Greville, was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman wh ...

, ''Caelica'' (1633), 109 sonnets. *

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

'' Sonnets'' (1609), 154 sonnets to a variety of unnamed people, both male and female. * Lady Mary Wroth, ''

Pamphilia to Amphilanthus ''Pamphilia to Amphilanthus'' is a sonnet sequence by the English Renaissance poet Lady Mary Wroth, first published as part of ''The Countess of Montgomery's Urania'' in 1621, but subsequently published separately. It is the second known sonnet se ...

'' (1621), 48 sonnets, included in ''

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, ...

''. Other English and Scottish sonnet collections and sequences of the period include: *

Anne Lok Anne Locke (Lock, Lok) (c.1533 – after 1590) was an English poet, translator and Calvinist religious figure. She has been called the first English author to publish a sonnet sequence, ''A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner'' (1560), although auth ...

(Lock, or Locke), ''Meditation of a Penitent Sinner'' (1560), 26 sonnets of a devotional nature based on Psalm 51, the first known sonnet sequence in English. * Thomas Watson, ''ΕΚΑΤΟΜΠΑΟΙΑ or Passionate Centurie of Love'' (1582), 100 'sonnets', most of which are of eighteen lines each, yet still emulating the general idea of Petrarch whom Watson had translated into Latin. * Alexander Montgomerie (ca. 1580s), 70 Scots sonnets on miscellaneous personal, religious and political themes, many addressed to various persons, including

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. * Thomas Lodge, 40 sonnets to Phillis (1593). * Henry Constable, ''Diana'' (1592). * William Percy, ''Sonnets to the fairest Coelia'' (1593). *

Anon Anon may refer to: People * Anon Amornlerdsak (born 1997), a Thai footballer * Anon Boonsukco (born 1978), a professional footballer from Thailand * Anon Nampa, Thai human rights activist * Anon Nanok (born 1983), a football Defender from Th ...

., ''The Tears of Fancie'' (1593), 60 sonnets formerly attributed to Thomas Watson. *

Barnabe Barnes Barnabe Barnes (c. 1571 – 1609) was an English poet. He is known for his Petrarchan love sonnets and for his combative personality, involving feuds with other writers and culminating in an alleged attempted murder. Early life The third son ...

, ''Partenophil and Parthenophe'' (1593), 104 sonnets. *

Giles Fletcher Giles Fletcher (also known as Giles Fletcher, The Younger) (1586? – Alderton, Suffolk, 1623) was an English cleric and poet chiefly known for his long allegorical poem ''Christ's Victory and Triumph'' (1610). Life Fletcher was the young ...

, ''Licia'' (1593), 52 sonnets. *

., ''Zepheria'' (1594), 40 sonnets by an unknown poet. *

Richard Barnfield Richard Barnfield (baptized 29 June 1574 – 1620) was an English poet. His obscure though close relationship with William Shakespeare has long made him interesting to scholars. It has been suggested that he was the "rival poet" mentioned in ...

(1595), 20 sonnets appended to his '' Cynthia''. * E.C. Esq., ''Emaricdulfe'' (1595), 40 sonnets. * Bartholomew Griffin, ''Fidessa, more chaste than kind'' (1596), 62 sonnets. *Richard Linch

''Diella'' (1596), 39 sonnets. * William Smith (poet), William Smith, ''Chloris'' (1596), 51 sonnets. * Robert Tofte, ''Laura'' (1597), 40 sonnets. * William Alexander of Menstrie (later Earl of Stirling), ''Aurora'' (1604), containing 125 lyrics of which 105 are sonnets. * William Drummond, ''Poems'' (1616), 68 sonnets.

Notable later sequences

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the sonnet sequence returned to favour, although with a greater variety of subject matter. *

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime. Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabet ...

Sonnets from the Portuguese ''Sonnets from the Portuguese'', written ca. 1845–1846 and published first in 1850, is a collection of 44 love sonnets written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The collection was acclaimed and popular during the poet's lifetime and it remain ...

(pubd. 1850, 44 sonnets to

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical sett ...

) *

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

's The House of Life (1870, 1881, 101 sonnets) *

George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but he gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' The Ord ...

's Modern Love (1862, 50 sixteen-line sonnets) * Edna St. Vincent Millay's ''Sonnets from an Ungrafted Tree'' (1923), seventeen sonnets; the last line of each sonnet a heptameter * H. P. Lovecraft's

Fungi from Yuggoth ''Fungi from Yuggoth'' is a sequence of 36 sonnets by cosmic horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Most of the sonnets were written between 27 December 1929 – 4 January 1930; thereafter individual sonnets appeared in ''Weird Tales'' and other genre ...

(1930) *

John Berryman John Allyn McAlpin Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and is considered a key figure in th ...

's '' Sonnets to Chris'' (1947, published 1967)his subsequent sequence Dream Songs — 385 eighteen-line poems published between 1964 and 1968 — could also be thought of as conforming to this genre *

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the '' Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects ...

Notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking. History ...

(1969), revised and expanded into the three volumes

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

(1973), For Lizzie and Harriet (1973) and The Dolphin (1973). *

Wanda Coleman Wanda Coleman (November 13, 1946 – November 22, 2013) was an American poet. She was known as "the L.A. Blueswoman" and "the unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles". Biography Wanda Evans was born in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, whe ...

's American Sonnets (1994) * William Wenthe's The Mysteries (pubd. 2004, 11 sonnets) * Ernest Hilbert's Sixty Sonnets (2009) and All of You on the Good Earth (2013) * Terrance Hayes' American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin (2018)

Footnotes

External links

Elizabethan sonnet sequences online
* ttp://www.sonnets.org/index.htm Sonnet Central {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet Sequence Sonnet sequences Sonnet studies

List of Italian sonnet sequences

List of English sonnet sequences

Notable later sequences

See also

Footnotes

External links