To sonnet or not to sonnet. That is the question

Sonnets are some of the simplest form of poetry to do. It is quick to read, concise, has a specific rhyme scheme, and generally the point comes across easily. To easily recognize a sonnet is is best to know that it has 14 lines. There are three different types of sonnets. The first is the Italian sonnet. Also called the Petrarchan sonnet, the rhyme scheme is divided up into an octet and a sestet. The octave generally follows a rhyme scheme of abbaabba and the sestet usually follows a cdcdcd or cdecde scheme. The volta, or the turn/shift in the poem occurs usually at the separation between the octet and the sestet. This was the first type of sonnet introduced to England. It was introduced by Sir Thomas Wyatt. The Spencerian sonnet type has an interlocking rhyme scheme. The Spencerian sonnet is the most complex type of sonnet for that reason. It is split into 8 and 6 like the Italian sonnet but unlike the Italian sonnet the Spencerian sonnet has a rhyme scheme of ababbcbc in the octet and a scheme of cdcdee in the sestet. The last two rhyming lines is called the couplet. The volta generally occurs between the octet and the sestet but sometimes it occurs right before the couplet. The Shakespearean sonnet is the most well known and popular type of sonnet and it is also rather simple to write. Obviously, this one was introduced by Shakespeare himself in England. He split his sonnets up into 4 separate quatrains and ended with a couplet. The quatrains generally went with the rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef and the couplet at the end rhymed with gg. The volta in the Shakespearean sonnet generally occurs between the last quatrain and couplet. However, because Shakespeare liked to push boundaries of typical writing, he often suggests smaller shifts as well. Shakespeare wrote a great many sonnets and his first 126 sonnets seem to be addressed to a young man. As the set of sonnets continued to number 127 to 132, they seemed to be addressed to a dark haired lady. Both the speaker and the young man seem to be romantically involved with the lady but there has never been any real connection from Shakespeare to any young lady that he may or may not have been fascinated with or intrigued by. 

For sonnets in general, it is important that to read them you should keep in mind that the speaker is speaking about their inner life or own thoughts. This gives them a truth so you can take what they are saying and the meaning in what they are saying to be the truth of what the speaker is thinking.