Sonnet

sonnet · form · validated

Fourteen lines in a fixed metre and rhyme scheme.

Provenance

• Source: Giacomo da Lentini, Sicilian School (c. 1230)
• Attribution: primary — a named author, work and year this catalogue stands behind
• Checkability: self — decidable from the text and its parameters alone
• Attested: codified — formulated as a rule by a tradition rather than declared by an author

Details

• Kind: restrictive
• Languages: en
• Requires: tokens, phonemes, stress, syllables.heuristic
• Deterministic: yes
• In other languages: Sonett (de), Sonnet (fr)

Prompt hint

Write fourteen lines in the given rhyme scheme and metre.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
feminine_ending	boolean	False	Whether a line may close on one extra unstressed syllable (a feminine or klingende ending) as well as on the bare metre.
metre	string	0101010101	Stress pattern per line; 0 unstressed, 1 stressed.
scheme	string	ABABCDCDEFEFGG	Rhyme pattern, one letter per line. Must be fourteen letters.
unknown_rhyme	string	undecidable	What a line ending absent from the pronouncing dictionary means: leave the pair unscored (undecidable), let it satisfy the scheme (free), or fail it (strict).

Examples

shakespearean-scheme

en — this text satisfies the procedure.

the cat can see the moon above the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a kestrel flies around the house at three
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the fish will swim beneath the frozen lake
the owl will call across the dark alone
the deer will wake before the morning break
the moon will rise and fill the sky with light
the horse will stand beside the gate so still
the stars will burn until the end of night
the mouse will hide behind the open till
the clock will mark the passing of the time
the bell will ring and slowly start to chime

Parameters: scheme='ABABCDCDEFEFGG', metre='0101010101'

Source: constructed example

thirteen-lines

en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

the cat can see the moon above the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a bird can fly around the house at three
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the fish will swim beneath the frozen lake
the owl will call across the dark alone
the deer will wake before the morning break
the moon will rise and fill the sky with light
the horse will stand beside the gate so still
the stars will burn until the end of night
the mouse will hide behind the open till
the clock will mark the passing of the time

Parameters: scheme='ABABCDCDEFEFGG', metre='0101010101'

Source: constructed counterexample

fourteen-lines-one-mis-rhymed

en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

the cat can see the moon above the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a bird can fly around the house at dawn
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the fish will swim beneath the frozen lake
the owl will call across the dark alone
the deer will wake before the morning break
the moon will rise and fill the sky with light
the horse will stand beside the gate so still
the stars will burn until the end of night
the mouse will hide behind the open till
the clock will mark the passing of the time
the bell will ring and slowly start to chime

Parameters: scheme='ABABCDCDEFEFGG', metre='0101010101'

Source: constructed counterexample; fourteen lines, one broken rhyme and nothing else

fourteen-lines-one-unmetrical

en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

the cat can see the moon over the tree
the dog will run across the field today
a bird can fly around the house at three
the sun will set behind the hill in may
the fox will hide beneath the fallen stone
the fish will swim beneath the frozen lake
the owl will call across the dark alone
the deer will wake before the morning break
the moon will rise and fill the sky with light
the horse will stand beside the gate so still
the stars will burn until the end of night
the mouse will hide behind the open till
the clock will mark the passing of the time
the bell will ring and slowly start to chime

Parameters: scheme='ABABCDCDEFEFGG', metre='0101010101'

Source: constructed counterexample; fourteen lines, one trochee against the beat

shakespeare-schema

de — this text satisfies the procedure.

der Wandrer zieht durch jenes weite Land
der Wind bewegt die Blätter in der Nacht
das Feuer brennt und wärmt die kalte Hand
der Regen fällt und niemand hat gelacht
ein Vogel singt am Morgen auf dem Baum
die Lampe steht und gibt uns wenig Licht
ein Kind erwacht und ruft nach seinem Traum
der Bote kommt, doch bringt er Botschaft nicht
der Bauer geht am Abend nicht allein
der Mond erhebt sich über jenem Feld
die Sonne sinkt und lässt den Himmel rein
die Krone fällt und niemand ist ein Held
der Wandrer geht hinunter in das Tal
die Fenster leuchten hell im großen Saal

Parameters: scheme='ABABCDCDEFEFGG', metre='0101010101'

Source: constructed example

gryphius-eitel-sonett

de — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

Du sihst/ wohin du sihst nur Eitelkeit auff Erden.
Was dieser heute baut/ reist jener morgen ein:
Wo itzund Städte stehn/ wird eine Wiesen seyn/
Auff der ein Schäfers-Kind wird spielen mit den Herden.
Was itzund prächtig blüht/ sol bald zutretten werden.
Was itzt so pocht vnd trotzt ist morgen Asch vnd Bein/
Nichts ist/ das ewig sey/ kein Ertz/ kein Marmorstein.
Itzt lacht das Glück vns an/ bald donnern die Beschwerden.
Der hohen Thaten Ruhm muß wie ein Traum vergehn.
Soll denn das Spiel der Zeit/ der leichte Mensch bestehn?
Ach! was ist alles diß/ was wir vor köstlich achten/
Als schlechte Nichtigkeit/ als Schatten/ Staub vnd Wind;
Als eine Wiesen-Blum/ die man nicht wider find't.
Noch wil was ewig ist/ kein einig Mensch betrachten!

Parameters: scheme='ABBAABBACCDEED', metre='010101010101', feminine_ending=True

Source: Andreas Gryphius, "Es ist alles eitel" (Sonnete, 1637 Lissa; revised 1643/1663), diplomatic Baroque orthography with virgules, per the German Wikipedia text panel (revised recension). Rejected: 2 violations — wrong_line_length on line 1, where lowercase "du" makes the checker report 14 syllables (a denckring-de-data defect, ADR 0040, parked not fixed), and wrong_stress on "Nichtigkeit" (line 12), where the checker expects stress 101 but finds 100. Measured on this HEAD: score 0.9873, 2 violations.