A Shakespearean sonnet is a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter and organized into three quatrains followed by a final rhyming couplet. Its usual rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. The structure often builds an argument, image, or emotional situation through the first 12 lines and then turns toward a conclusion in the closing couplet.
Example
When morning light turns silver on the pane,
The restless clock forgets its usual pace;
I fold my doubts like paper after rain,
And find one calm reflection in your face.
The street outside still hurries toward the day,
The sparrows stitch their music into air;
Yet here your quiet keeps the noise at bay,
And makes a small, bright shelter out of care.
So let the hour move on beyond the hill,
Let winter write its marks on every tree;
My heart, though weathered, holds its courage still,
Because your voice returns and steadies me.
The world may change, but this remains the same:
Your glance begins the light; your smile names it.
[n] a sonnet consisting three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg