Which form is described as three quatrains followed by a final couplet?

Which form is described as three quatrains followed by a final couplet?

• A. Limerick
• B. Petrarchan Sonnet
• C. Elizabethan or Shakespearean Sonnet
• D. Villanelle

Answer: (C)

Three quatrains followed by a final couplet describes the Shakespearean (Elizabethan) sonnet. In this form, the poem has fourteen lines divided into three four-line blocks and a concluding two-line ending. The common rhyme scheme—ABAB CDCD EFEF GG—drives the development across the three quatrains, with the final couplet providing a closing twist or resolution to the theme. This structure is distinct from other forms: a Petrarchan sonnet splits into an octave and a sestet rather than three quatrains; a limerick is five lines with a playful AABBA rhyme; and a villanelle uses nineteen lines with repeating refrains rather than a closing couplet after three quatrains.

Three quatrains followed by a final couplet describes the Shakespearean (Elizabethan) sonnet. In this form, the poem has fourteen lines divided into three four-line blocks and a concluding two-line ending. The common rhyme scheme—ABAB CDCD EFEF GG—drives the development across the three quatrains, with the final couplet providing a closing twist or resolution to the theme. This structure is distinct from other forms: a Petrarchan sonnet splits into an octave and a sestet rather than three quatrains; a limerick is five lines with a playful AABBA rhyme; and a villanelle uses nineteen lines with repeating refrains rather than a closing couplet after three quatrains.