摘要：關于十四行詩可談之處甚多，其中比較重要的一點是其形式。它不僅體現(xiàn)了詩歌的韻律，還影響著詩歌主題的推進。本文試圖通過對比莎士比亞十四行詩與意大利十四行詩，探討莎士比亞十四行詩的形式之美，以及其在詩歌史上的地位。

關鍵詞：莎士比亞十四行詩；意大利十四行詩；形式

Abstract： There are many aspects of sonnet that deserve to be discussed. However， among them the form is of great importance. It shows the rhyme scheme and influences the emotion or idea the poem tries to explain. By means of comparative study with Petrarchan sonnet， this paper aims at analyzing the form of Shakespearean sonnet and its influence on the meaning of poem.

Key words： Shakespearean sonnet； Petrarchan sonnet； Form

中圖分類號：I06 文獻標識碼：A 文章編號：

Part I Introduction

Evolved from the Italian “sonetto”， sonnet has beautiful patterns， rigorous rhythm. It is defined as a lyric poem comprising 14 rhyming lines of equal length： iambic pentameters in English. Western scholars generally believe that a Sicily poet in medieval Italy is the first to adopt this kind of form， and has made the strict rules of it. It， together with ballad and lyric， is the most popular genre of Italian lyrics. In the Renaissance Period of Italy， Francesco Petrarch carried on the work of the Sicily poet and his sonnets were artistically better and had significant influence on the development of sonnet. Thus the Italian sonnet is also known as the Petrarchan sonnet. In the early 16th century， sonnet was introduced to Britain. Then Shakespeare， through adapting the pattern made by Petrarch， created the English sonnet（Shakespearean sonnet）. Shakespeare made much more advances on sonnet writing Above all， Shakespeare made some changes in the pattern. It is through the pattern or form that the emotion is expressed. Therefore， the poet must pay a lot of attention to composition of the poem. Thus， this paper tries to analyze the overall beauty of the form of Shakespearean sonnet in comparison to Petrarchan sonnet.

Part II A Comparison between Shakespearean sonnet and Petrarchan sonnet

Petrarchan sonnet is written in iambic pentameter and is composed of two quatrains and two tercets. The first eight lines are called the octave and the last six the sestet. The rhyme scheme of the octave is usually fixed in an a b b a， a b b a pattern. The sestet may be written in different rhyming schemes， including c d c， c d c， or c d e， c d e. On the aspects of form and meaning， the octave often contains a conflict or dilemma， and the sestet usually offers some sort of resolution. From the octave and the sestet there is a clear shift or turn in thought.

While Shakespearean sonnet， is also written in iambic pentameter but has the following rhyme scheme： a b a b， c d c d， e f e f， g g. As indicated by its rhyme scheme， The Shakespearean sonnet is composed of tree quatrains and a couplet. Therefore the pattern of thought is shift from an octave-sestet pattern in Italian sonnet to a four part argument on a single thought or emotion. Usually each of the quatrains contains a separate development of the sonnet’s central idea， with the couplet providing a conclusion， climax， or resolution.

As is seen in the above paragraphs， Shakespearean sonnet and Petrarchan sonnet differ in their overall layout. To be specific， the Shakespearean sonnet has a four part organization， with each of the former three quatrains focusing on a comparatively separate part of the central idea and the end couplet concludes with a resolution or climax while in the Italian sonnet， the first eight lines develop a central idea and the last six lines offer a resolution. There should not exist absolutely an answer to which form or organization is better. However， speaking of the transition of the feeling or emotions， Shakespearean sonnet is clearly better than Petrarchan sonnet. In the former three quatrains， the idea or emotion naturally develops more and more intense and in the final couplet the poet give a more philosophical conclusion or resolution. That’s just like the four steps in Chinese regulated writing， namely， opening， developing， changing and concluding. Chinese poet Feng Zhi also thought highly of the sonnet， for its unparallel features： “there are in this pattern of poem ups and downs， tension and relaxation， questions and answers， causes and effects， beautiful rhyme， and certain number of foots， which is convenient for the poet to distill objective truth from the subjective experience of life， and in turn， this kind truth contains profound emotion\"（Feng Zhi， 1989： 23-25）. This kind of form has advantage in expressing intense emotions or explaining an artistic truth.

Two well known poems will be included to illustrate the idea. One is Sonnet18 by Shakespeare and the other is When I Consider How My Light is Spent by John Milton.

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day？ （a）

Thou art more lovely and more temperate： （b）

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May， （a）

And summer's lease hath all too short a date （b）

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines， （c）

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd； （d）

And every fair from fair sometime declines， （c）

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd （d）

But thy eternal summer shall not fade （e）

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest； （f）

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade， （e）

When in eternal lines to time thou growest （f）

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see， （g）

So long lives this and this gives life to thee. （g）

（Shakespeare， 2008： 42）

When I Consider How My Light Is Spent by John Milton.

When I consider how my light is spent （a）

Ere half my days， in this dark world and wide， （b）

And that one talent which is death to hide， （b）

Lodged with me useless， though my soul more bent （a）

To serve therewith my Maker， and present （a）

My true account， lest he returning chide； （b）

\"Doth God exact day-labor， light denied？\" （b）

I fondly ask； but Patience to prevent （a）

That murmur， soon replies， \"God doth not need （c）

Either man's work or his own gifts； who best （d）

Bear his mild yoke， they serve him best. His state （e）

Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed （c）

And post o'er land and ocean without rest； （d）

They also serve who only stand and wait.\" （e）

Sonnet 18 can also be divided into four parts and its rhyme scheme is a b a b， c d c d， e f e f， g g. in this kind of rhyme scheme the rhyme is better than that in the Petrarchan sonnet provides readers with the beauty of rhyme and rhythm. The structural division of this sonnet is in accordance with changes of the emotion. The first four lines is \"the opening \". The poet establishes an question “shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” and then overthrow it with “Thou art more lovely and more temperate”； In following four lines， the poet moves on to the destructive power of time or fate， claiming that time is fleeting and youth is short； in the third quatrain， poet return to the listener in spite of the impermanence of the nature， the beauty of the listener will not fade. In the final couplet the poet give the reason that the listener can depend on the verse of the poet and his beauty will never fade. Thus the theme that poetry is eternal is highlighted.

In Milton’s sonnet， it can be seen clearly that the conception can be divided in to three parts. They are the first quatrain， the second quatrain and the sestet. In the first quatrain， the speaker portrays his concern that he is going blind and worries that his “one talent，” his writing， may suffer. In the second quatrain， the speaker dramatizes his challenge by humbly querying， \"Doth God exact day-labour， light denied？\" He wants to ask such a question， but he knows it would sound impertinent， so he soon finds his patience， which prevents him from asking it so blatantly. In the sestet the speaker avers that those who are capable of bending to God’s will are also capable of “serv[ing] him best. Although this is also a good poem， in term of form， this poem is not so perfect. In the first quatrain， the speaker is tortured by his bind and wants to ask why and how. In the second， he gradually finds the answer that even he is blind， he is also serving God. Then in the sestet he continues to distill the theme to a higher level and continue to comfort and encourage himself. The separation and development of the emotion is not so perfect.

Part III Conclusion

In the history of western poetry， there are various forms of sonnet. According to Chinese critic Wang Guowei， there will exist a specific type of literature for every period of time（Teng Xianhui， 2007： 79）. In other words， every kind of poem has its specialty and its popular time. However， in a better poem the form， the meaning and the rhyme must complement one another. In most of his works， Shakespeare has achieved this point.

Works Cited

1.Shakespeare， William. Shakespeare’s Sonnets[M ]. Trans. Li Mingqiang. Kunming： U of Yunnan P， 2008.

2.馮至. 《我和十四行詩的因緣》[J ] ， 《世界文學》 ， 1989年第 1 期。

3.滕咸惠. 《人間詞話》[M ]. 長春：吉林文史出版社，2007.