A Petrarchan sonnet, also called the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet comprising an octave and a closing sestet. The octave is composed of two quatrains following the form abba. The poems usually follow the rhyme scheme abba abba cde cde, abba abba cd cd cd, and even abba abba cce dde and abba abba cdd cee.

It was named for Petrarch, the Italian poet, and was later adapted into the Shakespearean sonnet in England.

See Also

Spenserian sonnet