High School

Select all of the following elements that characterize a poem as a Spenserian Sonnet:

a) 10 syllables per line in Iambic Pentameter

b) Three four-line stanzas, or groups of lines, called quatrains followed by a concluding two-line stanza called a couplet

c) One eight-line stanza, called an octave, and one six-line stanza called a sestet

d) A rhyme scheme of abab bcbc cdcd ee

e) A rhyme scheme of abbaabba cdecde or abbaabba cdcdcd

f) A rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg

Answer :

A Spenserian Sonnet is characterized by having 10 syllables per line in Iambic Pentameter and a rhyme scheme of abab bcbc cdcd ee, which means that selections (a) and (d) are correct.

The elements that characterize a poem as a Spenserian Sonnet are:

  • 10 syllables per line in Iambic Pentameter
  • Three four-line stanzas, or groups of lines, called quatrains followed by a concluding two-line stanza called a couplet
  • A rhyme scheme of abab bcbc cdcd ee

Based on these characteristics, the correct options for a Spenserian Sonnet are:

  • (a) 10 syllables per line in Iambic Pentameter
  • (d) A rhyme scheme of abab bcbc cdcd ee

The other options listed represent characteristics of different types of sonnets; option (b) describes the structure of a Shakespearean Sonnet, option (c) and (e) represent elements of a Petrarchan Sonnet, and option (f) again pertains to the Shakespearean Sonnet.

  1. 10 syllables per line in Iambic Pentameter

Lambing parameter is major one .

  • Three four-line stanzas, or groups of lines, called quatrains followed by a concluding two-line stanza called a couplet
  • A rhyme scheme of ababbcbccdcdee

Option A,B,D