The English Sonnet

"Because it has four parts, three isomorphic ones (the quatrains) and one anomalous one (the couplet), it is far more flexible than the two-part Italian sonnet" (Vendler 22).

"The distance from one's open experience necessitated by an analytic stance is symbolized most fully in the couplet, whereas the empathetic perception necessary to display one's state of mind is symbolized by the quatrains" (Vendler 25).