Samples of a Sonnet: Exploring 10 Famous Examples and Their Meaning

Sonnets are a cornerstone of poetic tradition, a form that has challenged and inspired poets for centuries. While their strict structure might seem daunting at first, delving into samples of a sonnet reveals the incredible depth of expression possible within its fourteen lines. Understanding sonnets is a journey of practice and insight into how form and content intertwine.

This article provides an in-depth look at what makes a sonnet, offering ten famous examples with expert analysis to help you appreciate their artistry. By exploring these samples, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of the form, the historical context, and the enduring power of these “little songs.”

Our guide covers:

• A definition of the sonnet form.
• Detailed analysis of ten iconic sonnet samples.
• Resources for further study of sonnets.

Let’s explore these compelling examples of sonnets and unlock their meanings.

What Defines a Sonnet?

A sonnet is a lyric poem consisting of fourteen lines, traditionally following a specific rhyme scheme and meter. The term “sonnet” originates from the Italian word sonetto, meaning “little song,” reflecting its often musical quality when read aloud due to its patterned structure.

While there are variations depending on origin (Italian/Petrarchan vs. English/Shakespearean), all sonnets share fundamental characteristics:

• Fourteen Lines: The most defining feature.
• Specific Rhyme Scheme: Varies by sonnet type (e.g., ABBAABBA CDECDE or ABAB CDCD EFEF GG).
• Iambic Pentameter: Lines typically consist of ten syllables, alternating unstressed and stressed (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM).

Exploring different poetry formats like the sonnet helps appreciate the constraints and creative possibilities poets work within. The sonnet’s rigid form often compels intense focus and compression of thought and emotion.

Image representing the number 10, introducing ten samples of sonnets

10 Famous Samples of a Sonnet, Explained

Examining specific examples is the best way to grasp the nuances of the sonnet. Below are ten celebrated sonnets, providing rich samples of a sonnet across different styles and eras. For each, we offer background, identify the type, and provide a brief analysis. Keep in mind that interpretations can be subjective, and your own reading is valuable!

#1: “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun” by William Shakespeare (Sonnet 130)

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

This famous Shakespearean sonnet offers a striking Sample Of A Sonnet that satirizes conventional love poetry. Instead of idealizing his beloved with exaggerated comparisons to natural beauty (sun, coral, snow, roses), the speaker does the opposite, listing her perceived imperfections.

The poem builds through three quatrains detailing these unconventional descriptions. The turning point, or volta, arrives dramatically in the final couplet (“And yet…”). Here, the tone shifts entirely. Despite all the ways she fails to live up to idealized beauty standards, the speaker declares his love is just as rare and genuine as any praised with false comparisons. Shakespeare uses this sonnet not just to express love, but to critique the artificiality of much Elizabethan love poetry, championing a more realistic, unvarnished affection.

#2: “Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers’ Day?” by William Shakespeare (Sonnet 18)

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Another celebrated Shakespearean sample of a sonnet, this poem takes a more traditional approach than Sonnet 130, comparing the beloved to a summer’s day. However, the speaker quickly asserts the beloved’s superiority – they are “more lovely and more temperate” and, crucially, their beauty will outlast summer’s fleeting perfection.

The initial quatrains highlight the imperfections and transience of summer (rough winds, short duration, excessive heat, changing course). This sets up the contrast in the third quatrain where the volta occurs (“But thy eternal summer shall not fade”). The speaker introduces the central theme: the beloved’s beauty and virtue will achieve immortality not through nature, but through the enduring power of the poem itself. The concluding couplet confidently asserts that as long as humanity exists, the poem will live, preserving the beloved’s essence and giving them life. It’s a testament to the poet’s faith in his art to defy time and death.

#3: “That Time Of Year Thou Mayest In Me Behold” by William Shakespeare (Sonnet 73)

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

Addressed to the “Fair Youth,” this Shakespearean sample of a sonnet uses powerful metaphors to explore the theme of aging and mortality. The three quatrains each present a distinct image of decline:

• Quatrain 1: Compares the speaker’s state to late autumn/early winter, when leaves are few or gone, and the trees are bare and cold (“Bare ruin’d choirs”).
• Quatrain 2: Compares it to twilight fading into night, where night is “Death’s second self.”
• Quatrain 3: Compares it to the glowing embers of a dying fire, consuming itself on the ashes of its past vigor.

These cyclical images from nature emphasize the natural process of aging. The volta arrives in the couplet, shifting the focus to the effect of this observation on the beloved. The speaker suggests that witnessing his inevitable decline should strengthen the beloved’s love, prompting them to cherish the speaker more intensely precisely because the time is limited. It’s a poignant reflection on love in the face of impending loss.

Sunset scene illustrating a metaphor for aging in a sonnet

#4: “If There Be Nothing New, But That Which Is” by William Shakespeare (Sonnet 59)

If there be nothing new, but that which is
Hath been before, how are our brains beguil’d,
Which, labouring for invention, bear amiss
The second burthen of a former child!
O, that record could with a backward look,
Even of five hundred courses of the sun,
Show me your image in some antique book,
Since mind at first in character was done!
That I might see what the old world could say
To this composed wonder of your frame;
Whether we are mended, or whe’r better they,
Or whether revolution be the same.
O! sure I am, the wits of former days
To subjects worse have given admiring praise.

From the Fair Youth sequence, this sample of a sonnet grapples with the philosophical idea that history repeats itself – “there is nothing new under the sun.” The speaker ponders this notion, wondering if the present is merely a repetition of the past.

He wishes for a historical record stretching back centuries (“five hundred courses of the sun”) to see if the unparalleled beauty of the youth had an equivalent in antiquity and how it was described. This thought process fills the first three quatrains. The volta in the couplet offers a decisive answer to his philosophical musing. Despite the cyclical nature of time, the speaker is certain that the youth’s beauty is new and unmatched. He dismisses the praise given by “wits of former days” to lesser subjects, reaffirming the unique and incomparable nature of his beloved.

#5: “Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments” by William Shakespeare (Sonnet 55)

Not marble nor the gilded monuments
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme,
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the Judgement that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers’ eyes.

Continuing the theme of defying time, this Shakespearean sample of a sonnet offers a bold declaration of the power of poetry to immortalize its subject. The speaker contrasts physical structures – marble, monuments, statues, masonry – with his “powerful rhyme.”

The quatrains detail how physical symbols of power and memory are vulnerable to decay, war, and the passage of time (“sluttish time”). The volta occurs implicitly, or perhaps continuously through the third quatrain, emphasizing that the beloved, preserved within the poem’s “living record,” will escape this fate. The poem asserts that the beloved’s memory and praise will endure through generations, even until the end of the world. The concluding couplet reinforces this, stating that the beloved will live in the poem (“this”) and in the eyes of future lovers who read it. It’s a powerful statement on the lasting legacy of art over material achievements.

#6: “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Sonnet 43 from Sonnets from the Portuguese)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Moving to a Petrarchan (or Italian) sample of a sonnet, this is Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s most famous work, expressing the speaker’s profound love. The Petrarchan form typically divides the poem into an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines), with the volta often occurring between them.

The octave poses the opening question, “How do I love thee?” and begins to list the many dimensions of this love. The ways counted are expansive and spiritual (“depth and breadth and height My soul can reach”), practical (“every day’s Most quiet need”), moral (“freely… purely”), and deeply personal.

The volta between the octave and sestet marks a shift in the enumeration. The sestet continues counting, drawing on the intensity of past emotional experiences (“passion put to use In my old griefs,” “childhood’s faith”) and encompassing the totality of the speaker’s present existence (“breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life”). The poem culminates with the ultimate declaration: her love will transcend death itself and continue eternally. It’s a passionate and comprehensive exploration of the many facets of a deep and abiding love.

#7: “One day I wrote her name upon the strand” from Edmund Spenser’s Amoretti (Sonnet 75)

One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I write it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay,
A mortal thing so to immortalize,
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so, (quod I) let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse, your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
Where whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.

This Spenserian sample of a sonnet, distinct from both Shakespearean and Petrarchan forms in its interlocking rhyme scheme (ABAB BCBC CDCD EE), shares a thematic concern with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 55: the power of verse to immortalize the beloved.

The first quatrain sets a scene at the seashore where the speaker repeatedly writes his beloved’s name in the sand, only for it to be erased by the waves. This tangible image illustrates the transience of earthly things. The second quatrain introduces dialogue; the beloved points out the futility of his action, acknowledging her own mortality (“I myself shall like to this decay”) and the inevitable erasure of her name.

The volta occurs between the second and third quatrains, with the speaker’s reply (“Not so, (quod I)”). He rejects the idea that she, a precious being, is subject to the same decay as “baser things.” He asserts that his poetry (“My verse”) will immortalize her virtues and write her name not in sand, but “in the heavens.” The concluding couplet offers a vision of their love enduring beyond global destruction, living on and renewing itself, preserved by the power of his art.

Blindfolded person, symbolizing the theme of blindness in Milton's sonnet sample

#8: “When I Consider How My Light is Spent” by John Milton

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”

This Miltonic sample of a sonnet (a variation on the Petrarchan form that often carries the sense over the octave-sestet break more fluidly) is a profound reflection on faith and service, often understood in the context of Milton’s blindness. The speaker laments the loss of his “light” (vision, or perhaps opportunity/talent) relatively early in life, fearing that his primary “Talent” (a biblical reference to gifts from God, specifically from the parable in Matthew 25) is now useless. He worries that God will demand an accounting of his unused abilities despite his disability (“light denied?”).

The volta occurs in the latter half of the octave, marked by “But patience.” Patience personified answers the speaker’s anxious question. The sestet delivers Patience’s comforting revelation: God does not require intense “day-labour” from everyone. True service lies not just in active work, but in patiently accepting God’s will (“bear his mild yoke”) and trusting in His plan. The famous concluding line, “They also serve who only stand and wait,” offers solace and reframes the concept of divine service, suggesting passive acceptance can be as valuable as active contribution.

#9: “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why” by Edna St. Vincent Millay

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain
Under my head till morning; but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply,
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain
For unremembered lads that not again
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.
Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:
I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
I only know that summer sang in me
A little while, that in me sings no more.

Edna St. Vincent Millay offers a 20th-century sample of a sonnet in the Petrarchan form, reflecting on lost love with a distinctively modern sensibility. The octave establishes the speaker’s current state: she has forgotten the specifics of past lovers – their names, the places, the reasons. Yet, the sensory details of a rainy night evoke a deeper, less tangible memory. The “ghosts” of the rain stir a “quiet pain” for these forgotten figures.

The volta between the octave and sestet introduces a powerful simile: the speaker is like a lonely winter tree. The tree doesn’t remember individual birds that have left but knows its branches are quieter. Similarly, the speaker doesn’t recall specific past loves but is acutely aware of the emotional void left behind. The final lines reveal the true object of her elegy: not the lovers themselves, but the feeling they ignited within her – a fleeting “summer” that “sings no more.” This sonnet is a poignant expression of nostalgia for the lost experience of love rather than for the lost lovers.

#10: “Sonnet” by Billy Collins

All we need is fourteen lines, well, thirteen now,
and after this next one just a dozen
to launch a little ship on love’s storm-tossed seas,
then only ten more left like rows of beans.
How easily it goes unless you get Elizabethan
and insist the iambic bongos must be played
and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines,
one for every station of the cross.
But hang on here while we make the turn
into the final six where all will be resolved,
where longing and heartache will find an end,
where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen,
take off those crazy medieval tights,
blow out the lights, and come at last to bed.

This contemporary sample of a sonnet by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins is a playful, meta-commentary on the form itself. Collins breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly about the process of writing a sonnet. He counts down the lines, references the traditional themes (“love’s storm-tossed seas”), and explicitly mentions the challenges of adhering to strict rules like iambic pentameter (“iambic bongos”) and rhyme (“rhymes positioned at the ends of lines”) associated with the Elizabethan style.

He guides the reader to the volta (“But hang on here while we make the turn”) into the final six lines (the sestet in a Petrarchan or the last quatrain/couplet transition in Shakespearean), where traditionally “all will be resolved.” Collins injects humor by referencing Petrarch and his idealized love, Laura, bringing them down to a relatable, even comical, modern scenario. This sonnet serves as both an example of the form and a witty deconstruction of the form, making it accessible and showing the enduring potential for creativity within its boundaries.

Further Resources for Exploring Sonnets

Understanding sonnets is an ongoing process, and thankfully, there are numerous resources available to deepen your appreciation. Here are some top recommendations:

• The Poetry Foundation: An extensive online archive offering a vast collection of poems, including countless sonnets, alongside biographical information and critical essays. Searching for “sonnet” here provides a treasure trove of poetry examples and analyses.
• Shakespeare’s Sonnets Online: A dedicated resource providing all of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets with detailed line-by-line commentary, perfect for a deep dive into his work.
• The Making of A Sonnet: A Norton Anthology: A comprehensive collection tracing the history and evolution of the sonnet form over 500 years, featuring a wide range of poets and examples.
• Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins On Your Favorite Songs: A fun and creative book that reimagines popular song lyrics as Shakespearean sonnets, bridging the gap between classic poetry and modern culture. This demonstrates the adaptability of poetic poetry formats.
• Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold: This book offers modern language translations of Shakespeare’s sonnets while retaining their original rhythm and rhyme, making them more accessible to contemporary readers.

These resources provide diverse pathways to continue exploring the rich world of sonnets and discovering more samples of a sonnet across different periods and styles. You might even find inspiration to engage with your local poetry society or delve into other forms like the haiku society of america to broaden your poetic horizons.

Logo of The Poetry Foundation, a resource for exploring poetry

What’s Next in Your Poetry Journey?

Analyzing samples of a sonnet is just one step in appreciating poetry. To enhance your understanding further, consider exploring common literary devices and elements present in poems. Learning about imagery, metaphor, symbolism, and meter will equip you with tools to uncover deeper meanings.

Practice analyzing poems yourself! Start with short, accessible pieces and apply the concepts you’ve learned about structure, themes, and devices. Comparing different analyses of the same poem can also be highly insightful, highlighting the subjective yet informed nature of literary interpretation. The world of poetry is vast and rewarding, waiting for you to explore its endless possibilities.