a sonnet composed of three quatrains, typically with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef, and a final couplet with the rhyme gg; English sonnet
See Shakespearean sonnet in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
The sonnet form used by Shakespeare, composed of three quatrains and a terminal couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg. Also called Elizabethan sonnet, English sonnet.