The Petrarchan sonnet, perfected by the Italian poet Petrarch, divides the 14 lines into two sections: an eight-line stanza (octave) rhyming ABBAABBA, and a six-line stanza (sestet) rhyming CDCDCD or CDECDE.
It shows a serious undertone to laying out the scene. It helps the reader understand that the Sheriff isn't fooling around and that something important is starting.
