The Spenserian sonnet was invented in which century?

The Spenserian sonnet was invented in which century?

• A. 16th century
• B. 15th century
• C. 17th century
• D. 18th century

Answer: (A)

Think of when the form was created in relation to the poet who developed it. Edmund Spenser lived in the second half of the 16th century and is credited with shaping and popularizing this linked, or Spenserian, sonnet during the Elizabethan era. His key works—written and published in the late 1500s—anchor the invention firmly in the 16th century. The 15th century is too early for him, and the 17th or 18th centuries come after his time, when different poetic forms and experiments were taking hold. So the Spenserian sonnet was invented in the 16th century.

Think of when the form was created in relation to the poet who developed it. Edmund Spenser lived in the second half of the 16th century and is credited with shaping and popularizing this linked, or Spenserian, sonnet during the Elizabethan era. His key works—written and published in the late 1500s—anchor the invention firmly in the 16th century. The 15th century is too early for him, and the 17th or 18th centuries come after his time, when different poetic forms and experiments were taking hold. So the Spenserian sonnet was invented in the 16th century.