CHAPTER IX

THE SONNET

§ 306. Origin of the English sonnet 371 307. The Italian sonnet 371 308. Structure of the Italian form illustrated by Watts-Dunton 373 309. The first English sonnet-writers, Surrey and Wyatt 373 310. Surrey's transformation of the Italian sonnet, and the form adopted by Shakespeare 374 311. Another form used by Spenser in _Amoretti_ 375 312. The form adopted by Milton 375 313. Revival of sonnet writing in the latter half of the eighteenth century 376 314. The sonnets of Wordsworth 377 315. The sonnet in the nineteenth century 379