What Is a 14-Line Poem Called?
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Not all 14-line poems have specific names, but the name of the most famous type of 14-line poem is the sonnet. Sonnets come in two major forms, Petrarchan, or Italian, and Shakespearean, or English.
The Petrarchan sonnet, named for its originator Petrarch, has two divisions in its 14 lines: a beginning set of eight lines known as an octave followed by six lines known as a sestet. The octave has a set rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, while the rhyme scheme of the sestet varies. Shakespeare modified the sonnet to fit the English language. The divisions of the Shakespearean sonnet are three sets of four lines called quatrains and a final couplet. The Shakespearean sonnet has the rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG and is written in iambic pentameter.
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