Question

Which of these characteristics is found in all of Shakespeare’s sonnets?

Answer 1

Among the choices provided, all of Shakespeare's sonnets are characterized by having abab, cdcd, efef, and gg rhyme schemes. To add, aside from this rhyme scheme, Shakespeare's sonnets are also characterized by having 14 lines and are structured as an iambic pentameter which means it has 3 quatrains or 4 line sections and one heroic couplet or a rhyming pair of lines. 

Answer 2

The correct option is the second. They have abab,cdcd,efef and gg rhyme schemes.

Shakespeare's sonnets consist of three quatrains and a couplet unlike the Italian division of an octave and a sestet.

The meter is predominantly Iambic pentameter with each sonnet line consisting of ten syllables. The syllables are divided into five pairs known as iambs or iambic feet. An iamb is a metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.