Monosyllabic Sonnet
A monosyllabic sonnet is a miniature sonnet composed of fourteen extremely short lines. In its strictest form, every line contains exactly one syllable and normally consists of a single monosyllabic word. The form preserves the architecture and rhyme of a sonnet while reducing each line to its smallest possible verbal unit.
The best-known example is “Épitaphe d’une jeune fille,” published in La France littéraire on May 19, 1835, and signed by the comte Paul de Rességuier. Its title translates as “Epitaph of a Young Girl.”
Rules
1. The poem contains fourteen lines.
2. Each line contains exactly one syllable. In the strict form, each line is a single one-syllable word.
3. The lines are divided into four groups: two quatrains followed by two tercets.
4. The traditional rhyme pattern is:
ABBA ABBA CCD EED
5. The title is not included in the syllable count.
6. Punctuation may connect the isolated words into phrases or sentences. Commas, semicolons, dashes, and periods help establish the poem’s rhythm and meaning.
7. Articles, pronouns, prepositions, and other ordinarily unstressed words may occupy entire lines.
8. The first eight lines should establish the subject, image, or situation.
9. A turn in thought, feeling, or perspective should occur near the ninth line, as in a traditional sonnet.
10. The final six lines should develop or conclude the poem’s central image.
11. Although the language is compressed and may appear fragmentary, the poem should create a recognizable scene, statement, or emotional movement.
12. Repeating the same rhyme word should generally be avoided. Different words should create the required rhymes.
Épitaphe d’une jeune fille
Fort
Belle,
Elle
Dort;
Sort
Frêle!
Quelle
Mort!
Rose
Close,
La
Brise
L’a
Prise.
Its rhyme pattern is ABBA ABBA CCD EED. Every line consists of a single syllable and functions almost as an individual rhyme unit. Even grammatical words such as elle, quelle, la, and l’a are isolated and given unusual emphasis.

Epitaph of a young girl
(A Translation)

True,
Fair,
She
Sleeps;
Fate
Frail!
What
Death!
Rose
Closed,
The
Breeze
Has
Her.

After the Last Train
Late
Train;
Rain.
Wait.
Gate—
Pain
Again.
Fate.
Door.
More.
Gone.
Chair.
Air.
Dawn.
Explanation
“After the Last Train” contains fourteen one-word, one-syllable lines arranged as two quatrains and two tercets. Its rhyme pattern is:
A — late
B — train
B — rain
A — wait
A — gate
B — pain
B — again
A — fate
C — door
C — more
D — gone
E — chair
E — air
D — dawn
The opening octave presents someone waiting at a train station in the rain. The sestet turns toward absence: the door opens no more, the expected person is gone, and only an empty chair remains at dawn. The isolated words create both the scene and the slow, suspended experience of waiting.
The monosyllabic sonnet is a compressed sonnet form in which individual words carry the weight normally assigned to entire lines. Its difficulty lies in preserving rhyme, movement, imagery, and emotional meaning while allowing only one syllable at a time.