The Invention of the Sonnet

Abstract The chapter reflects on the transnational fortune of the sonnet, and in particular of the “Italian sonnet,” from the time of its invention to the present. After an introductory section, the argument is organized into three parts, each addressing an opposition that is essential to what a sonnet is and does. The self-contained shape of the sonnet allows for both monody and dialogue, for both closure and connections within larger poetic structures. Similarly, the narrowness suggested by its fourteen-line measure and rhyme schemes proves inseparable from the wealth of discursive possibilities sparked by the infinitely varied balance between its internal partitions. Finally, the recognizable visual shape and object-like character of the sonnet coexist with its lyric and dynamic quality, dominated by voice and address. While acknowledging the enduring connection between the sonnet and Petrarch, the conclusion questions the persistence of a deep cultural perception of the assumed “Italianness” of the form.