thumb|upright|Carol Ann Duffy Sonnets are particularly associated with high poetic diction, vivid imagery, and romantic love, largely due to the influence of Petrarch as well as of early English practitioners such as Edmund Spenser (who gave his name to the Spenserian sonnet), Michael Drayton, and Shakespeare, whose sonnets are among the most famous in English poetry, with twenty being included in the Oxford Book of English Verse. However, the twists and turns associated with the volta allow for a logical flexibility applicable to many subjects. Poets from the earliest centuries of the sonnet to the present have used the form to address topics related to politics (John Milton, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Claude McKay), theology (John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins), war (Wilfred Owen, E. E. Cummings), and gender and sexuality (Carol Ann Duffy). Further, postmodern authors such as Ted Berrigan and John Berryman have challenged the traditional definitions of the sonnet form, rendering entire sequences of "sonnets" that often lack rhyme, a clear logical progression, or even a consistent count of fourteen lines.
thumb|upright|Carol Ann Duffy Sonnets are particularly associated with high poetic diction vivid imagery and romantic love largely due to the influence of Petrarch as well as of early English practitioners such as Edmund Spenser (who gave his name to the Spenserian sonnet) Michael Drayton and Shakespeare whose sonnets are among the most famous in English poetry with twenty being included in the Oxford Book of English Verse However the twists and turns associated with the volta allow for a logical flexibility applicable to many subjects Poets from the earliest centuries of the sonnet to the present have used the form to address topics related to politics (John Milton Percy Bysshe Shelley Claude McKay) theology (John Donne Gerard Manley Hopkins) war (Wilfred Owen E E Cummings) and gender and sexuality (Carol Ann Duffy) Further postmodern authors such as Ted Berrigan and John Berryman have challenged the traditional definitions of the sonnet form rendering entire sequences of "sonnets" that often lack rhyme a clear logical progression or even a consistent count of fourteen lines