Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for Master of Arts in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, 1987. / This study has been made possible by our desire to look into the feasibility and effectiveness of the Western poetic devices in the writing of sonnets in Zulu. In chapter one the aim of this study is clearly spelt out. We hope that at the end of the investigation, we shall come out with some suggestions and possibilities of a Zulu type of a sonnet, for, we feel that there was a reason for the English to choose a different style from the Italian. The second chapter deals specifically with the definition of terms. These include, inter alia, the concept "sonnet" as espoused by various linguists; iambic pentameter and the rhyme scheme. In chapter three we firstly defined the major characteristics of sonnets. These major structural features of a sonnet are clearly depicted in Kreuzer's (1955:224) definition of a sonnet, that a sonnet is: a fourteen-line lyric poem, in iambic pentameter, following one or more rhyme schemes. It is clear, therefore, that a sonnet should consist of fourteen iambic pentameter lines and should follow a required rhyme scheme. Furthermore, in this chapter, the two types of sonnets were briefly outlined, namely the Petrarchan or Italian and the English or Shakespearean. The fourth chapter dealt with the formal elements of the three selected poets* sonnets in this investigation, namely, Ntuli, Masuku and Nxumalo. We looked closely into the division into fourteen lines, the iambic pentameter as well as the rhyme scheme that is being followed. As we scrutinised all the sonnets, these poets have contributed, with regard to these three external structural features, we also paid particular attention to their significance, that is, whether they contributed anything towards the delivery and portrayal of ideas contained in each sonnet. Content in Ntuli's,. Masuku's and Nxumalo's sonnets is analysed in the fifth chapter. In our analytic study of content, we looked closely into what each poet was writing about - the proposition each was advancing or the story each poet was telling in each sonnet. We came across a variety of subjects ranging from those discussing death to those that were purely social and political, and those with a religious background. We also looked closely into the approaches and artistic devices which the sonneteers employed in the portrayal of the ideas in their works of art. We noticed that these ranged frcm the less effective straight-forward prosaic narration to the more concentrated use of vivid imagery coupled with the rich and well-chosen words and ideophones. In this chapter we also examined the effectiveness of rhyme in the portrayal of content. In chapter six we analysed Ntuli's, Masuku's and Nxumalo's sonnets with particular attention on the meaning that is conveyed in each of the sonnets they have contributed. We also looked very closely into the techniques the poets employed to relay the four aspects of meaning to the readers, namely, Sense, Intention, Feeling and Tone. We also examined the effectiveness of Masuku's rhyme in the conveyance of the meaning in the sonnets whether it was contributory or not. The possibility of a Zulu type of a sonnet is dealt with in the seventh chapter. The last chapter is the general conclusion where all our observations and suggestions are summarised.