Loading…
GCSE English Literature · key term
The opening eight-line section of a sonnet.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas
Paper 2
The first eight lines of a sonnet.
Revise: Sonnet 29 – 'I think of thee!'The poem is a fourteen-line Petrarchan sonnet, printed as one continuous stanza. Its rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA CDCDCD: an enclosed octave followed by an alternating sestet. The form provides a recognisable framework for a passionate argument about love.
Paper 2
Distinguish the early turn at “Yet” from the formal octave–sestet division after the eighth line.
Create a free account to keep every note you open and track your progress.
The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet: fourteen lines with an octave, or opening eight lines, followed by a sestet, or final six. Its rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA CDCDCD. Although it is printed as one continuous stanza, rhyme and the change in thought establish these two sections.
An eight-line stanza.
Component 1
An eight-line section of a poem, particularly the opening eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet.
Revise: Sonnet 29The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet: fourteen lines organised into an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet. It is printed continuously, so this division is a formal structure rather than a visible blank space.
