On Spenserian Form

There is one more type of standard stanza that I have neglected to mention, an oversight which I will here rectify. This is another English form, known as the Spenserian sonnet from its association with the sixteenth-century poet Edmund Spenser. It consists of a set of three quatrains and a couplet, much like a Shakespearean sonnet, but with a specific set of rhymes that overlap between quatrains. Specifically, the sonnet has a rhyme scheme ababbcbccdcdee: the second rhyme in the previous quatrain becomes the first in the new one. This allows for substantially more couplets within the overall structure, while retaining the flexibility of alternating rhyme as well.

The effect of this rhyme scheme is, broadly speaking, to tie the quatrains together more tightly and place (even) more emphasis on the division of twelve and two rather than the Petrarchan eight and six. Where a Shakespeare sonnet has three clear rhyme divisions (after each quatrain), the Spenserian has only one, after the last quatrain; in this, and in its number of rhyme sounds, it resembles the Petrarchan sonnet, but the placement of the turn is substantially altered. The Petrarchan form permits an extended discourse in the sestet concerning the situation set up in the octave; the Shakespearean allows incredible flexibility in where a turn can come; the Spenserian demands, insists, requires that there be a turn at line thirteen - or if there is not, it demands explanation (it is crucial to recall that poems can create effects by pushing against, as well as going along with, the conventions associated with the form). In either case, there is a magnifying glass placed on that section of the poem - as well as an expectation, again to be played with if desired, that the three quatrains will meld together. The intricate interlacing of those quatrains can produce beautiful effects; and it can also be used to create a heightened sense of disharmony if the enfolding rhymes are thrown into contrast with discontinuous thought. Scorn not the Spenserian sonnet, for it has hidden depths.