SONNET (Italian, Sonata, &melte), a form of poetry much used by the Italian and Spanish poets, but which our deficiency of rhymes has caused to be more sparingly used in English. The sonnet properly consists of two quatrains, having properly but two rhymes, and two tercets. The last six lines are susceptible of various arrangements ; the one usually adopted in English is the rhyming of the fifth and sixth lines together, frequently after a full pause, so that the sonnet ends with a point, as in an epigram. The Italians consider the best form to be the rhyming together of the three uneven and the three even lines; but our poverty of rhymes causes us to prefer the rhyming of the first and fourth, second and fifth, third and sixth lines : this, with a break in the sense at the third line, constitutes also a legitimate sonnet, of which the Italians have given abundant precedents. We need scarcely observe that all our poets have held themselves at liberty to vary the form of the sonnet. The lightness and richness of the Italian and Spanish languages ...enable their poets to express every feeling or fancy in the sonnet ; but with us it has been folind most suitable to grave, dignified, and contemplative subjects. Hence Milton
and are our best writers of sonnets.
SONOROlJS VIBRATIONS. When the air or other elastic body is made to vibrate with sufficient rapidity, sound is produced. [Acomencs.] During such vibrations the molecular arrangement of the sounding body becomes changed, but returns to its normal state when the vibrations MSC. [NODAL POINTS AND LINES.] It is stated (Bird's Philosophy;) that if a copper ribbon 9 feet long, .4 inch wide, and inch thick, be vibrated, its length will appear to be unaffected. If it be stretched by a weight of 90 lbs., its length will remain the same until it be made to vibrate, when it will become per manently lengthened by 6 or 7 inches. When sonorous vibrations are isochronous a perfect sound or tone is produced ; when irregular, a noise. For the phenomena produced by the reflection of sonorous vibrations, see Ectto, and for their interference Acoustics and /NTEll rem:cr. For the production of sonorous vibrations during the cooling of heated metals, see TIIERMOPTIONE. For the different kinds of vibrations, see VIBRATIONS.