Innovation of the sonnet and its development has opened up the form from a restrictive to an adaptable form that allows the sonnet to address different themes. The adaptability of the sonnet...Show moreInnovation of the sonnet and its development has opened up the form from a restrictive to an adaptable form that allows the sonnet to address different themes. The adaptability of the sonnet becomes evident in various ways. This degree of innovation allowed for the sonnet to develop from its origin as a love poem towards the religious sonnet, extending the topic of secular love, central to the Petrarchan sonnet, to include divine love and human-divine relationality. Following from that, the religious sonnet developed into the political sonnet. The political sonnet provided the foundation for women to set the stage with their contributions to the sonnet: women used the sonnet as a vehicle for private and political expression and thereby constructed the identity of the woman poet. Moreover, the adaptability of the sonnet becomes clear in the way in which individual poets innovate the sonnet in various ways. This thesis showcases examples in which poets reinvent the sonnet by means of innovative use of structural and formal conventions. Innovation of form and structure within the sonnet is analysed and contextualised by comparing sonnets by poets from the period between 1600 and 1800. The central question is how these poets innovate the use of the sonnet to respond to the events of their time, and how the successive innovation of the sonnet has caused the form to open up to address a wider range of topics.Show less
