To write a sonnet, pick a tension you want to explore and shape it into 14 lines of iambic pentameter with a set rhyme scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG for a Shakespearean sonnet). Then turn the argument at the volta and resolve it in the final lines.
Writing a sonnet can feel harder than it should. You sit down with an idea, and suddenly you’re counting syllables on your fingers and second-guessing every line break. But the structure isn’t your enemy. Once you see how the pieces fit together, the form starts doing some of the work for you.
My first sonnet was mostly me bending sentences to fit rhymes I’d already committed to, which is exactly backwards. It clicked the moment I stopped protecting my opening line and let the ending pull the whole poem toward it.
How to Write a Sonnet in 7 Steps
- Choose a tension, not just a subject. “Love” is a subject; “love you haven’t said out loud yet” is a tension.
- Pick your form. Start with the Shakespearean sonnet: three quatrains and a couplet.
- Plan your rhyme pairs for each quatrain before writing full lines.
- Draft in iambic pentameter: five da-DUM beats per line, about ten syllables.
- Turn the argument at the volta, usually at line 9 or line 13.
- Write a couplet that resolves the poem rather than summarising it.
- Revise in four passes: argument, meter, rhyme, then individual words.
Where the Sonnet Comes From
The word “sonnet” comes from the Italian sonetto, meaning “little song.” The form is credited to Giacomo da Lentini, a poet at the court of Emperor Frederick II in 13th-century Sicily. A century later, Petrarch made it famous with his love sonnets to a woman named Laura. His octave-and-sestet version became known as the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet.
The sonnet reached England in the 16th century through Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who translated and imitated Petrarch. Surrey reshaped it into three quatrains and a couplet. That is the structure William Shakespeare used for his 154 sonnets, published in 1609, which is why it’s now called the Shakespearean sonnet.
Types of Sonnets: Shakespearean vs Petrarchan (and Spenserian)
All three main types have 14 lines, iambic pentameter and a volta. What changes is how the lines are grouped and rhymed.
| Type | Structure | Rhyme scheme | Where the volta usually falls |
| Shakespearean (English) | 3 quatrains + 1 couplet | ABAB CDCD EFEF GG | Line 9, or the final couplet |
| Petrarchan (Italian) | Octave (8 lines) + sestet (6 lines) | ABBAABBA + CDECDE or CDCDCD | Line 9, where the sestet begins |
| Spenserian | 3 linked quatrains + 1 couplet | ABAB BCBC CDCD EE | Line 9, or the final couplet |
Start with the Shakespearean sonnet. Each quatrain gets its own rhyme sounds, so you never need more than two words on the same sound. A Petrarchan octave needs four words on each of two sounds, which is much harder. If you want to see finished poems first, browsing some sonnet poem examples can help the structure click faster.
What is a Shakespearean Sonnet?
A Shakespearean sonnet is a 14-line poem built on four interlocking rules: 14 lines, iambic pentameter, an ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme, and a volta. The rules work as one system: change the meter and your rhyme options shrink, and ignore the volta and the structure loses its point.
The 14 lines carry an argument. Three quatrains build the case, and the couplet lands the conclusion: problem, development, complication, resolution. Here is how that looks in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, starting with the first quatrain:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (A) Thou art more lovely and more temperate: (B) Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A) And summer’s lease hath all too short a date; (B)
Line 9 turns the argument with “But thy eternal summer shall not fade,” and the couplet resolves it:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, (G) So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (G)
Choose a Theme That Can Sustain 14 Lines
A theme isn’t a subject. It’s a tension your poem will explore and resolve. “Love” gives you something to feel; “love you haven’t said out loud yet” gives you something to argue.
Each quatrain needs its own angle. The first sets up the situation, the second pushes it further, and the third complicates it. Abstract emotions like hope or grief have nowhere to turn on their own, so find a specific situation underneath the feeling.
Ask yourself: what is at stake here, and what changes by the end? If you can answer both, your theme is ready.
Draft the 14 Lines Using the ABAB CDCD EFEF GG Rhyme Scheme
Each quatrain in the ABAB CDCD EFEF GG pattern gets fresh rhyme sounds. That means you’re only ever managing four lines at a time, three times over, plus a final pair.
The common mistake is drafting in order and hoping rhymes show up. By line 4, you end up writing something you don’t mean just to land the rhyme. Plan the end words first. For the first quatrain, you might choose night/sight and day/away, then write lines that earn those anchors. Repeat with new sounds for the next two quatrains, and leave the couplet for last.
Three things weaken a rhyme pair:
- Unintended near-rhymes. Pairs like love/move can feel slightly off. Shakespeare does rhyme “love” with “remove” in Sonnet 116, but in a first sonnet, aim for full rhymes so every near-rhyme is a choice.
- Forced inversions. Flipping a sentence just to land a word makes the line sound unnatural.
- Filler words. A word chosen only because it rhymes hollows out the quatrain.
If a rhyme pair is making you write lines you don’t believe, replace the pair, not the line.
Write in Iambic Pentameter
Iambic pentameter is one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, repeated five times per line. That unit is an iamb: say “a-LONE” or “be-CAUSE” and you’ll hear it. The ten-syllable count follows from the five iambs; the pattern comes first.
Most beginner lines fail because the stresses land in the wrong places, not because the syllable count is wrong. Shakespeare allowed small variations, such as a stressed first syllable, but only among metrically solid lines. Get the strict version right first, then break it on purpose.
To scan a line, read it aloud and mark each syllable da (unstressed) or DUM (stressed). “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” is usually scanned as five iambs, though some readers stress “Shall” too. If a line fights you when spoken, the stresses are off.
When a word won’t fit, remember that its stress is fixed: “remember” is always re-MEM-ber. Swap in a synonym, or reorder the sentence so the stress lands where the meter needs it.
Place the Volta and Write the Couplet
The volta is the point where your poem’s argument shifts direction. In a Shakespearean sonnet, it usually arrives at line 9 or line 13.
Treat it as a logical move, not just a mood change: a concession, a reversal, or a new frame over everything before it. The feeling changes because the argument changes. In Sonnet 18, “But thy eternal summer shall not fade” does exactly that.
The couplet’s job is to complete the argument, not summarise it. To test it, cover the couplet and read the three quatrains; something should feel unresolved. Then read the couplet, and it should close that gap. If it only echoes the third quatrain, you’ve written a fourth quatrain with fewer lines.
Revise Your Sonnet
Revise in four separate passes, so a rhyme fix doesn’t hide a structural problem:
- Argument. Does the volta shift something? Does the couplet resolve rather than restate? Fix this first.
- Meter. Read every line aloud, including each revision. Some problems can only be heard.
- Rhyme. Remove forced inversions and filler words.
- Words. Cut syllable-fillers, and look for flat spots where stronger figurative language in poetry could do more work.
Final check: read the couplet alone. If it surprises you, it’s working.
Final Verdict
A Shakespearean sonnet leaves little room to hide. The meter catches lazy word choices, the rhyme scheme exposes filler, and the volta demands that you have something to say, not just something to feel. If your idea survives 14 lines and still means something in the couplet, you’ve said it well.
Now you know how to write a sonnet from the first line to the last. Open a blank page, write down your tension, and plan your first four end words.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet?
A Shakespearean sonnet rhymes ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Each of the three quatrains introduces new rhyme sounds, and the final two lines rhyme with each other to close the poem.
What is the difference between a Shakespearean and a Petrarchan sonnet?
A Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and a couplet rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. A Petrarchan sonnet has an eight-line octave (ABBAABBA) and a six-line sestet (usually CDECDE or CDCDCD), with the volta at line 9.
How many syllables are in each line of a sonnet?
Traditional English sonnets have about ten syllables per line, because iambic pentameter uses five unstressed-stressed pairs. An occasional extra unstressed syllable is fine; the stress pattern matters more than the exact count.
Does a sonnet have to rhyme?
Traditional sonnets rhyme, but many modern poets write looser sonnets with slant rhyme or little rhyme at all. For your first sonnet, stick to full rhymes and strict meter; it’s easier to break the rules well once you’ve followed them.
Do I have to write about love to write a sonnet?
No. Shakespeare’s own sonnets explore time, beauty, jealousy and mortality as well as love. Any theme with a real tension works, as long as it can develop across three quatrains and turn at the volta.
