Caudate sonnet
Encyclopedia
A caudate sonnet is an expanded version of the sonnet
. It consists of 14 lines in standard sonnet forms followed by a coda
(Latin cauda meaning "tail", from which the name is derived).
The invention of the form is credited to Francesco Berni
. According to the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry, the form is most frequently used for satire
, such as the most prominent English instance, John Milton
's "On the New Forcers of Conscience Under the Long Parliament."
Gerard Manley Hopkins
used the form in a less satirical mood in his "That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire." The poem is one of many in which Hopkins experimented with variations on sonnet form. However, unlike the curtal sonnet
, a Hopkins invention which is a 10½-line form with precisely the same proportions as a Petrarchan sonnet, his caudate sonnet is a full sonnet unmodified but with an extra six lines. Hopkins heightens the effect of the extension with an enjambment
from the 14th line to the 15th.
Hopkins explored the possibility of such a coda in a series of letters exchanged with Robert Bridges
, from whom he learned of the centrality of Milton's example in the form. Though the intent of his example is distinct from Milton's satirical use, the effect of the coda—to add stability to the poem's close—is comparable.
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
. It consists of 14 lines in standard sonnet forms followed by a coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
(Latin cauda meaning "tail", from which the name is derived).
The invention of the form is credited to Francesco Berni
Francesco Berni
Francesco Berni was an Italian poet. He is credited for beginning what is now known as "Bernesque poetry", a serio-comedic type of poetry with elements of satire.-Life:...
. According to the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry, the form is most frequently used for satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, such as the most prominent English instance, John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's "On the New Forcers of Conscience Under the Long Parliament."
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
used the form in a less satirical mood in his "That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire." The poem is one of many in which Hopkins experimented with variations on sonnet form. However, unlike the curtal sonnet
Curtal sonnet
The curtal sonnet is a form invented by Gerard Manley Hopkins, and used in three of his poems.It is an eleven-line sonnet, but rather than the first eleven lines of a standard sonnet it consists of precisely ¾ of the structure of a Petrarchan sonnet shrunk proportionally...
, a Hopkins invention which is a 10½-line form with precisely the same proportions as a Petrarchan sonnet, his caudate sonnet is a full sonnet unmodified but with an extra six lines. Hopkins heightens the effect of the extension with an enjambment
Enjambment
Enjambment or enjambement is the breaking of a syntactic unit by the end of a line or between two verses. It is to be contrasted with end-stopping, where each linguistic unit corresponds with a single line, and caesura, in which the linguistic unit ends mid-line...
from the 14th line to the 15th.
Hopkins explored the possibility of such a coda in a series of letters exchanged with Robert Bridges
Robert Bridges
Robert Seymour Bridges, OM, was a British poet, and poet laureate from 1913 to 1930.-Personal and professional life:...
, from whom he learned of the centrality of Milton's example in the form. Though the intent of his example is distinct from Milton's satirical use, the effect of the coda—to add stability to the poem's close—is comparable.