The renowned sonneteer Jose Rizal M. Reyes of the Philippines has suggested that there are three classes of sonnets, namely sonnets of the head, of the heart, and of the hand. Sonnets of the hand have some mechanistic feature or formulation that differentiates the sonnet by more than rhyme pattern, meter, line length or volta placement. I have in this blog decided to refer to this class of sonnet, as “Gadget” sonnets, and leave the other sonnets classed a “standard” at this time.
I feel the distinction of sonnets by head is merely a matter of content and has nothing to do with sonnet form. Here I will list those sonnets which most poets would consider standard, although there are some who will consider anything but English, French, and Italian to be otherwise. To jump to the specifications, poem example and template, click on sonnet name.
| American Forte | abab bbcc cdcd dd |
|---|---|
| American Libre | abab bbcc cdcd ee |
| Arabian Sonnet | aaaa bbbb ccc ddd |
| Asean Royal Flush Sonnet | aaaaaaaa aaaaaa |
| Balanced Sonnet | Stanzaic Two septets (7 line stanzas) Meter: Iambic pentameter Volta Not specified. Rhyme Scheme: ababcbc ededfef |
| Betwixt Sonnet | abba cbbc dbbd bb |
| Beymorlin Sonnet | abab cdcd efef gg |
| Blank Verse Sonnet | No rhyme; Strict Iambic Pentameter |
| Bowelsian Sonnet | abba cddc effe gg |
| Brisbane Sonnet | abcabc defdef gg |
| Byron’s Sonnet | abba acca ded ede |
| Canadia Sonnet-Italian Structure | abba cddc eff egg |
| Channing’s Sonnet | abbaabba cde cde |
It consists of three quatrains and a couplet, but the couplet itself does not rhyme. The Rhyme scheme is: abba cddc eefg gf