Which of the following do Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets have in common?
A. rhyme scheme
B. length
C. question and answer format
D. Both are organized as an octet and a sestet
I chose A. rhyme scheme. Am I Correct?
I don't think so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch%27s_and_Shakespeare%27s_sonnets
Your text may have other ideas. What does it say?
I think its d.
No, it's not d.
Just looked it up and its A.
Susan is incorrect. Re-read what Reed posted -- pay attention to details. Do those rhyme schemes look identical?
Its C but thank you for helping! I just read in my textbook that Petrarchan sonnets has two parts, an eight-line section, called octave, followed by a six line section, called the sestet. This form makes the Italian sonnet perfectly suited for a two-part statement: question-answer, problem solution, or theme-comment. It shows an example of each sonnet in my book. Petrarch goes by the rhyme scheme abbaabba etc. while Shakespeare goes by abab cdcd. Also Petrarch goes by octave, volta, and sestet, which Shakespeare goes by first quatrain, second quatrain, third quatrain, and couplet.
Aha! The textbook! What a novel idea!!
I'm glad you found your answer.
Thank you for your help! You guys helped me narrow it down. The textbook was confusing me because like Susan, I also thought it was the rhyme scheme at first until I really looked at it!
Yes, you are correct!
Both Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets have the same similarity: a specific rhyme scheme. In Petrarchan, or Italian sonnets, the rhyme scheme is typically ABBAABBA for the octave (first eight lines) and either CDECDE or CDCDCD for the sestet (last six lines). On the other hand, Shakespearean sonnets, also known as English sonnets, have a distinct rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG, with the final two lines forming a rhyming couplet.
So, by choosing A. rhyme scheme, you correctly identified the common feature shared by both Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets. Well done!