English Literature / Unit 19 ENL 1817 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Signature of Elizabethan Verse
Captions available
The idea
Sixteenth-century verse favours the sonnet, Petrarchan and Shakespearean, sonnet sequences, pastoral lyrics and the stage's blank verse. Its diction uses thee and thou, and its themes include love, time and beauty, often through Petrarchan conventions.
In practice
Sonnets, blank verse, Petrarchan love.
Where people slip
The volta signals a sonnet's turn.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
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