What is the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet?

Of the 154 sonnets that Shakespeare penned, only three (Sonnets 99, 126, and 145) do not fit into what came to be known as the Shakespearean sonnet structure.

In this structure, there are exactly fourteen lines, comprising a total of three stanzas divided into four lines each. These first three lines typically present a problem or key issue of concern which is resolved in some way in the last two lines. These lines will be structurally set apart from the rest of the poem as a rhyming couplet.

The first stanza's rhyme pattern is ABAB.

The second stanza's rhyme pattern is CDCD.

The third stanza's rhyme pattern is EFEF.

And the couplet's pattern is GG.

This structure and rhyme pattern can be evidenced in the following sonnet by Shakespeare:

What is the rhyme scheme of a typical Shakespeare sonnet?

Shakespeare's sonnet rhyme scheme is taken from experiments made by Wyatt and Howard, the Earl of Surrey, on Petrarch's Italian sonnet rhyme scheme. They independently adapted Petrarch's form to suit English words and idea constructs. Shakespeare used one of the experimental forms and honed it to perfection.

Let's compare Shakespeare's sonnet rhyme scheme, also called English sonnet rhyme scheme, to Petrarch's for a full picture of Shakespeare's scheme. Petrarch's sonnets developed one topical thought that turned in emphasis at what is called the Petrarchan volta at line 9. Then the problem in the topic is presented. It is resolved the final paradoxical lines of the sestet. He used eight lines in an octave to present the topic. He used six lines in a sestet to present the turn (volta) in topic and the paradox of the ending resolution. Thus Petrarchan structure is an octave joined to a sestet with no ending couplet. The octave always followed the abba abba rhyme scheme, with aa linking (concatenation) at lines 4 and 5. The sestet had various alternate rhyme schemes like cddcdc or cdeced.

Soleasi Nel Mio Cor by Petrarch (translation Thomas Wentworth Higginson)
She ruled in beauty o'er this heart of mine,  a
A noble lady in a humble home,  b
And now her time for heavenly bliss has come, b
'Tis I am mortal proved, and she divine.  a
The soul that all its blessings must resign,  a
And love whose light no more on earth finds room,  b
Might rend the rocks with pity for their doom,  b
Yet none their sorrows can in words enshrine;  a

They weep within my heart; and ears are deaf  c
Save mine alone, and I am crushed with care,  d
And naught remains to me save mournful breath.  c
Assuredly but dust and shade we are,  b
Assuredly desire is blind and brief,  e
Assuredly its hope but ends in death.   c

Shakespeare made modifications to this rhyme scheme. He introduced two voltas, lines 5 and 9, so he might have two subjects of discussion under one topic; one in the first four line quatrain and one in the second quatrain. The third quatrain provides the problem that is resolved in the paradox of the ending rhyming couplet. Shakespeare's structure is three quatrains and an ending couplet; this structure sets the stage for his rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.

Sonnet XXIX by Shakespeare
When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes,   a
I all alone beweep my outcast state,  b
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,  a
And look upon myself and curse my fate,  b

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,  c
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,  d
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,  c
With what I most enjoy contented least,  d

Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,  e
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,  f
(Like to the lark at break of day arising   e
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate,  f

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,  g
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.   g

You can see how each quatrain, with its own rhyme set, can easily be dedicated to a separate subject under one topic; that lines 5 and 9 might elegantly turn, or produce the two voltas; how the triple quatrain structure with independent rhyme sets also accommodates a sonnet that carries one subject for two quatrains without a volta at line 5, creating a vivid image of one idea. The resolution to the problem or continued idea of the third quatrain is dramatically set off by the paradox of the gg couplet.

How can one analyze Shakespeare's Sonnet 20?

Of Shakespeare's 154 known sonnets, the first 126 are addressed to a young man. Sonnet 20 is complex in that it is very clearly a love poem, yet there is an acceptance that it is a love that will not ever be fully realized.

A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;

The opening lines let us know who the poet is addressing. By saying "master-mistress," we know that the subject of the sonnet is a man, and based on the description, we can infer that the man is beautiful and likely feminine in his features. However, the poet goes on to describe the ways in which this young man is better than any woman. His heart is gentle like a woman's heart, but it is not false or changeable like women's hearts. His eyes are brighter than a woman's eyes and they have a constancy that women's eyes lack. The man's eyes are so bright that they "gild" those that he looks upon (gild literally meaning to coat in gold or some precious metal - so, his eyes bring light and value to those in his view).

The line "A man in hue, all hues in his controlling" is interesting in its rhetorical construction. Shakespeare is saying that the man is a true man in his physical form and all other men are under his control. He uses the word hue the second time in place of the word men. A hue is a tint or a shade of color - by using the word hue in place of men, it indicates that all other men are but tints or shades of this one. The object of the poet's affection captivates both male and female attention.

Here, the sonnet takes an interesting turn. The poet argues that the young man was intended to be a woman, but he was so beautiful that personified Nature herself fell in love with him and added one thing (male genitalia) and made him a man, "thus defeating" the poet. He cannot ever fully have the man due to the fact that they are both men. The poet sees it as a selfishness on the part of Nature.

There is an acceptance in the final rhyming couplet.

But since she prick'd thee out for woman's pleasure

Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.

There is nothing the poet can do to change the gender of his love, yet he contents himself with a spiritual or emotional relationship - the truest, purest love - with the young man and accepts that only women will enjoy the physical pleasures to be had in the relationship. The word "pricked" is at once a play on the word "picked" and a crude reference to the male anatomy. The treasure that he is referring to is the man's body. There is a conflict in the poet. He wants to enjoy fullness in love with the object of his affections, yet the poet has feelings of acceptance on the supposed "laws of nature" that will prevent a full relationship. He is happy enough that he can enjoy an emotional relationship with the man, even if he can never enjoy his body.

What is the rhyme scheme and analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 20?

Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 20” follows a very standard rhyme scheme for the sonnets. The poem is divided into four parts, three of them quatrains followed by a two-line refrain at the end of the poem. In total, there are 14 lines, and they follow a very standard set of rhyming rules.

The first three stanzas, the quatrains, are written in an alternating rhyming scheme. This means that the first and third lines rhyme, as well as the second and fourth lines. This creates an alternating rhythm in each stanza, connecting each line not to the one immediately following it but the subsequent one. The rhyme scheme gives structure and continuity through each quatrain while not leaving it stilted, connecting only in couplets.

The repeated structure of the quatrain for each of the three stanzas gives a similar and cohesive feeling. This rhyming scheme and rhythm ties the stanzas together, helping the reader feel the connection and rhythm throughout the first three stanzas. As the lines ebb and flow between one rhyme and the next, it gives the semblance of ambulation, as if the reader is walking somewhere, which builds up anticipation throughout the final quatrain.

Eventually, the scheme ends and a final refrain is introduced—two simple lines with a shared rhyme. This is the resolution to the poem, giving a finality that concludes the meter of the poetry, ending the feeling of motion. By concluding it in this manner, there is an abrupt and definitive end that diverges from, while also enhancing, the prior stanzas.

The poem is playful and has somewhat overt sexual overtones, making it rather shocking for the historical reader. This rhyming pattern illuminates the playful qualities of the poem and helps to guide gentle and humorous rhymes together without having to be too obvious. By splitting the rhymes, Shakespeare buried the lead and makes the humor of the poem more surprising.

What is the rhyme scheme in Shakespeare's Sonnet 20?

Shakespeare's preferred sonnet structure was so unique that it has a name of its own: the Shakespearean sonnet! In fact, Shakespeare did not invent the Shakespearean sonnet. It preceded him and is also widely known as the English or Elizabethan sonnet. The name now pays homage to Shakespeare because he greatly helped in the popularization of its particular form.

Shakespearean (or English) sonnets share attributes of other sonnets, including the poetic meter known as iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter refers to lines that are ten syllables each (or "decasyllabic"). Each line consists of five "feet," or groupings of two syllables. Each foot consists of one unstressed or "soft" syllable, followed by a stressed or "hard" syllable. Explanatory foot notation often writes out a foot as the sound-expression "da DUM."

What is distinctly "Shakespearean" about a Shakespearean sonnet is not its use of iambic pentameter but its rhyme scheme. Shakespearean sonnets consist of four stanzas. In each of the first three stanzas, there are four lines, and every other line rhymes. The final stanza consists of only two lines, and they rhyme with each other. In rhyme notation, this feature is written out as "ABAB CDCD EFEF GG."

The highly flexible and playful structure of the Shakespearean sonnet lends itself to a broad range of themes and images. Scholars of poetry argue that Shakespeare used the form to experiment with sexual meaning. Indeed, sexual connotations are abundant in Sonnet 20. In Shakespeare's contemporary world, there were no terms like "gay" or "bisexual" to describe sexual orientation. Gender identity also had a limited explicit vocabulary. The form of the sonnet facilitates the making of new associations between rhyming or parallel language and forces the use of atypical combinations of words. The form also accommodates ambiguity. It was taboo to have sexually "deviant" behavior then, just as it is in some cultures now. The form thus allowed Shakespeare to both conceal and illuminate his meaning, depending on the attitudes and preconceptions of those who read him.