Petrarchan sonnet Hear it!

Petrarchan sonnet definition

Pe·trar·chan sonnet (pi trär′kən)

a sonnet composed of a group of eight lines (octave) with two rhymes abba abba, and a group of six lines (sestet) with two or three rhymes variously arranged, typically cde cde or cdc dcd: the thought or theme is stated and developed in the octave, and expanded, contradicted, etc. in the sestet; Italian sonnet

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.