
Sonnets
A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, and the Sicilian School of poets who surrounded him then spread the form to the mainland.
2 episodes
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Shakespeare's Sonnets
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 154 sonnets collected and printed in 1609 of which some are famous, many are glorious, most are inspiring and several are unsettling.
24 June 2021
Featuring: Hannah Crawforth, Don Paterson, Emma Smith
The Sonnet
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Sonnet, the most enduring form in the poet’s armoury, from Petrarch and Shakespeare, to Milton, Wordsworth and Heaney.
21 June 2001
Featuring: Frank Kermode, Phillis Levin, Jonathan Bate