Question

Shakespeare was the first to create poetry as a sonnet.
Shakespeare was a poet who wrote only in sonnet form.
Sonnets were invented in Italy before Shakespeare’s time.
Sonnets were created by poets who wrote without rhyme patterns.

Answer 1

Here’s a quick fact-check of each statement and a brief correction.

1) "Shakespeare was the first to create poetry as a sonnet." — False.
Sonnets were invented in Italy in the 13th–14th centuries (often credited to Giacomo da Lentini and later developed by Petrarch) long before Shakespeare.

2) "Shakespeare was a poet who wrote only in sonnet form." — False.
Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, but he also wrote plays (mostly in blank verse) and longer poems (e.g., Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece). He did not write only sonnets.

3) "Sonnets were invented in Italy before Shakespeare’s time." — True.
The Petrarchan sonnet form originated in Italy and was well established centuries before Shakespeare. English sonnet forms were later adapted by Wyatt, Surrey, and others.

4) "Sonnets were created by poets who wrote without rhyme patterns." — False.
Sonnets are defined by strict patterns of lineation, meter (commonly iambic pentameter in English), and rhyme schemes (e.g., Petrarchan: abbaabba / cdecde; Shakespearean: abab cdcd efef gg).

Brief summary: the sonnet originated in medieval Italy, was refined by Petrarch, adapted into English by Wyatt and Surrey, and Shakespeare popularized the English (Shakespearean) sonnet form rather than inventing the sonnet itself.