The sonnet (sonneto, "little song,") is a 12-15 line poem of set structure. Over the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth century, the form gained popularity and recognition in Italy. By the sixteenth century, the sonnet had been adopted throughout Europe.
The English sonnet of the Elizabethan age: end-rhymed, three quatraines and a couplet, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG; the third quatrain or final couplet introduces a new emphasis, the volta; usually iambic pentameter, possibly with trochaic variation and femine endings. The "Shakespeare Sonnet" is so-called not as an attribution of invention, but because Shakespeare was a popular practioner of the English sonnet.
The sonnets of this sequence are structured as follows:
| 1 | ABABCDCDDEDEFF | |
| 2 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 3 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 4 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 5 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 6 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 7 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 8 | ABA BCD CDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 9 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 10 | ABABCDCDEFEF GG | (Shakespeare) |
| 11 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 12 | ABCBDDABDBDDFF | |
| 13 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 14 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 15 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 16 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 17 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 18 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 19 | ABABCDCDEFEFGG | (Shakespeare) |
| 20 | ABAB CDCD EFEF GG | (Shakespeare) |
| 21 | ABDCEFEDCBAFF | |
| 22 | ABCDEFG FEDCBA GG | |
| 23 | A BC DEF F ED C BAA | |
| 24 | ABA B CDCD EFEF GG | (Shakespeare) |
| 25 | ABCDEFFEDC BAA | |
| 26 | ABCDEFFEDCBAA | |
| 27 | ABCDEFEDC BAFF | |
| 28 | ABC DEF EF DCB AA | |
| 29 | ABCDEFEF DCB AA | |
| 30 | A/BCBCACBCBCAC DD | |
| 31 | ABCDEDEDCB A AA | |
| 32 | ABCDEFEFDCB AA | |
| 33 | ABCD EFEFD CBA GG | |
| 34 | ABC DEFEFDCBAGG | |
| 35 | ABCDEFE FDCBAA | |
| 36 | ABCD EEDCB A FF | |
| 37 | ABCD EFEF DCBAGG | |
| 38 | ABC DEFF EDCBAGG | |
| 39 | ABCD EFFEDBCAA | |
| 40 | ABCDEF F EDCBAGG | |
| 41 | ABCDBEBDCBA EE | |
| 42 | ABCDEFFEDBCAA | |
| 43 | ABCDEFFEDBCAA | |
| 44 | ABCDEFEFDCB AA | |
| 45 | ABCDEFEF DCBAA | |
| 46 | ABCDE FEFD CBAA | |
| 47 | ABCDEFEFDCBAGG | |
| 48 | ABCDEFEFDCBAGG | |
| 49 | ABC DEAEA DCBAFF | |
| 50 | ABCD EAEA DCBAFF | |
| 51 | ABCDEFE FDCBAA | |
| 52 | ABCD EDE DCBA FF | |
| 53 | ABCDEFEFDC BAA | |
| 54 | ABCDEFEFDC BAA | |
| 55 | ABCDEF EFDCBAA | |
| 56 | ABCDEFE FDCBAA | |
| 57 | ABCDEFEFDCBAA | |
| 58 | ABCDEFE FD CBAA | |
| 59 | ABCD EFEFD CBAA | |
| 60 | ABCDEFEF DCBAA | |
| 61 | ABCDEFAFED BCA | |
| 62 | A BCDEFAEFD CBA | |
| 63 | ABCDEFAEFDC AB | |
| 64 | ABCDEFAEFDCBA | |
| 65 | ABCDEFAEFDCBA | |
| 66 | ABCDEFAEFDCBA | |
| 67 | ABCDEFAEFDCBA | |
| 68 | ABCDEFAEFD CBA |