A Note to My Fellow Aspiring Sonneteers.....
I, like many(?) , was introduced to sonnets in high school literature, where they were defined simply as "14 lines (rhymed) iambic pentametre" and then further divided into either two forms....their original Italian/Petrarchan or the ever popular Shakespearian. Once referred to as "the most exquisite form of poetry," it is disturbing to discover the modern lack of a proper understanding of the sonnet form....maybe read Charles Tomlinson's famed essay on the sonnet, study some old sonnets, and check a textbook....anyway, here's a little reminder, for all of us......
(sonnet # XXXVIII)
XXXVIII
Aspiring fellow sonneteers, indeed
The challenge which we undertake is great;
This most exquisite form specific states:
Iambic and pentametre must be
E'er followed in all sonnets...it is key;
And after that, Italian imitate,
Or popular Shakespearian create....
Determine the particular rhyme scheme:
Two quatrains and two tercets---Petrarchan/
Italian 'tis with octave and sestet;
Three quatrains, couplet 'tis Shakespearian,
A question pose with answering couplet.
One theme alone adhere to, and our plan
For crowning laurels we may thereby get!
15Feb11
There I was, paying more attention to the Lovely put words, than the form, if you can believe it. Not in high school but as a thirteen old reading my brother's "book club" books with no clue except I found them delightful writing a few "thee and thou's" of my own. Hope to join you soon in my sonnet quest. So happy you felt the need to post this information...which of couse I have heard before...lol Dorothy Singing Still
I would never feel confident to even attempt a sonnet. Yours are so beautiful, you have a great gift .... Pat
i love Shakespeare's sonnets and admire greatly the discipline it takes to write one that works. Great re-introduction to probably the greatest of poetic forms.
I am uniquely unqualified to comment on the medium so I will take your word for it Jen. Nice sonnet about sonnets by the way : )
True enough, but Andrew Marvell has a number of 16-line sonnets, and I wouldn't want to argue with him (or his ghost). Also, it seems to me that as long as it has the right number of lines (OK, 14 now) and rhymes in a recognisable pattern, it doesn't need to have any more precise label - one can get so technical as to lose the poetry.
Hei! A great exposure. So, I read it again. . .
Its an honest approach to conceive poetry by its inner and outer origin. Form somewhere ignites our passion also and sometimes creative passion blow out all the conventions. Your asking and performance acts as a poet who wants to march at its apex by knowing the tradition but not fixing oneself on it. Thank you. Expect to read more.
Hi CG..what you say is true in preserving the purity of teh Sonnet and I wish poets would follow the tradition - unfortunately as CP says not many do...they want to write poetry without boundaries..Perhaps you and I can argue that they need not call it a sonnet!!!
Dear Chic, What you say is classically true but the moderns defy all forms all through, lol!!!
Don`t put `em off Jenny... It takes a life time to understand, to make mistakes,be able to stand corrected. Your poem will help us all ! I have no doubt ...indeed I know just why you write it. I do the same myself ...`tis the only way I can remember at my age just how to master any form. Well done ...this is the spirit of TRUE POETRY. Kind regards, as ever Philip