why sonnets have exactly 14 lines?

0 ⤊

why sonnets have exactly 14 lines?

2006-07-02 12:39:07 · 3 answers · asked by piyush g 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors

3 answers

The form was established before the 11th c. in Italy. For sonneteers, it is traditional to adhere to the classical form. Not all named "sonnets" are 14 lines, however. Irregular variations on the sonnet form have included the 12-line sonnet sometimes used by Elizabethan poets, G. M. Hopkin's sonnets of 10-1/2 lines, and the 16-line sonnets of George Meredith's sequence Modern Love (1862).

Isn't that the definition of a sonnet?

2006-07-02 19:43:15 · answer #2 · answered by Lisa the Pooh 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Why not?

2006-07-02 19:42:18 · answer #3 · answered by Sydney 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋