This paper is devoted to the history of a sonnet and bigger collections built of sonnets, a sonnet cycle and a wreath of sonnets, i.e. a specific cyclic work of a particular internal structure based on repeating verses within the whole. Also, a formal diversity of the sonnet form has been presented. The basic variants of the genre include: Italian and French sonnets, as well as an English sonnet in its several forms. Moreover, the rhyme schemes, which are the indicators of those variations,

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... been analysed, as well as metric patterns most often used in the sonnet. Another issue discussed in the paper is the sound structure in sonnets, i.e. orchestration, especially vocal harmony. Names of poets, who mostly contributed to the codification of the sonnet as a genre and popularizing this form in international literature, have been mentioned. All the ideas are illustrated with examples from the works written by the most distinguished Polish and European poets.