What a Dilemma
“What a dilemma” exclaimed the poet
“a Shakespearean sonnet I must write.
If I succeeded I would not know it
Or have a clue if I had done it right.”
“Fourteen lines, iambic pentameter…
Of course, a carefully patterned rhyme scheme.”
The idea truly enamored her,
as she prudently pursued this pipe dream.
“First, three quatrains to show complication,
a final couplet to tie up loose ends.”
Sure result was an abomination…
Certain ridicule from all of her friends.
After hours of counting syllables, it
turned into way too much silly bullshit.
poem by Maggie Signaigo
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Related quotes
What a Dilemma (a Shakespearean sonnet?)
What a dilemma” exclaimed the poet
“a Shakespearean sonnet I must write.
If I succeeded I would not know it
Or have a clue if I had done it right.”
“Fourteen lines, iambic pentameter…
Of course, a carefully patterned rhyme scheme.”
The idea truly enamored her,
as she prudently pursued this pipe dream.
“First, three quatrains to show complication,
a final couplet to tie up loose ends.”
Sure result was an abomination…
Certain ridicule from all of her friends.
After hours of counting syllables, it
turned into way too much silly bullshit.
poem by Maggie Signaigo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Don't Tell THe World! (Sonnet)
This Sonnet is in the popular Petrarchan Form
I behold thy love as beautiful thing,
In my wrecked heart, a pleasure garden,
Thy revered love, a blooming Eden.
A daisy tuft seasoned by bright spring,
Surging in moments that defeats waiting,
I behold thy words as a jeweled crown,
On my worn pages of despicable frown.
And thy memory feeds my mind dying,
Daring couple disclose, but don’t you tell,
About memoirs many encased and kept,
Say not thy chronicle, sweet as daisy smell,
Buried, not unseen to thy eyes except
Reveal not, the guarded stash of our love,
Lest a rational world desires to know! ! !
IA NOTE: For those who find the format unfitting to a sonnet!
(Sonnet
only 14 lines long— and has a firmly fixed form. The sonnet works best for expressing strong emotion or intense feeling, firm purpose, or great seriousness. This form works best if you want to focus attention on a single thing—a particular idea, situation, emotion, problem, observation, etc. —the sonnet gets to its point quickly and efficiently, with beauty and charm of form or expression.
The Shakespearean (or English) sonnet and the Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet are the two most prevalent versions of this form today.
A Shakespearean sonnet or English sonnet is written in one stanza composed of three rhymed quatrains (each making one point in a three-step argument) , followed by a rhyming couplet that summarizes the argument
A Petrarchan sonnet or Italian sonnet is composed of an octet followed by a sestet with a variable rhyme scheme. The octet presents the poem’s theme or problem, while the sestet offers a change or a resolution. In its traditional form, this sonnet never ends in a couplet.
Robert Frost was popular at Petrarchan form of sonnets.
sonnet’s formal requirements (14 lines of iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme) , method (a strong focus on one subject) , and goals (persuasion, surprise, balance) ,
Ref: www.poetry.com/techniques/form of poetic expressions.
Thank You
poem by Seema Aarella
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Return the Princess
Return the Princess
Sir Knight, I beg of you, fetch my sister.
A high born lady, stolen from our court.
Stricken from the scroll of the royal Lister.
As children, our time together was short.
She vanished the day the palace was stormed.
Swept from our presence and ripped from the fold.
‘twas torn from my life, yet my love had formed.
So fetch her for me, before she is sold.
I know where she is, she waiteth you see.
O find her my Knight, on your pure white steed.
She is lost in the land of poetry.
Bid me my sister and fulfill my need.
Rumor holds she is well beyond the sea.
So ride Sir Knight, bring my sister to me.
Author notes
English Sonnet
Sonnets are formal poems and consist of 14 lines (3 quatrains and a couplet) , traditionally written in iambic pentameter - that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable. English sonnets rhyme in the following scheme ababcdcdefefgg
source: shadowpoetry.com
Lister - assessor who makes out the tax lists
poem by Amera Andersen
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Beyond Infinity
Welcome to my world, take my hand and see.
Come into my world, a world of mystery.
It’s a magical place where dark meets light,
shades of shadow grey, fading into night.
A world where everyone speaks in rhyme,
with laughing and dancing and bending time.
The place where dreams, become reality
and children rule with regal majesty.
Come into my world of tranquility,
where we warp time and stability.
So open your mind as you fantasize
and step in the mirror before your eyes.
A place where laughter is the only rule
and lessons are learned in paradox school.
Author notes
Sonnet
Sonnets are formal poems and consist of 14 lines (3 quatrains and a couplet) , traditionally written in iambic pentameter - that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable.
poem by Amera Andersen
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The Widow’s Watch
‘twas a moondim night on the widow’s watch
for counting the days you had gone to sea
on the railing I carved a tiny notch
as if the scars, would bring you back to me
the albatross sings, I turn a deaf ear
as petticoats rustle in the sea breeze
the ocean will claim you, ‘tis this I fear
my mind screams a silent “O darling, please”
then in the dim light, I spy a small ship
out o’er the horizon appears a sail
I burst to the stairway lest I should slip
and ran to the docks my skirt in a trail
as the ship pulled in you smiled at me
I hugged you so tight, my man from the sea
Author notes
Widow’s Watch or Widow’s Walk is a railed rooftop platform, typically on a coastal house, originally designed to observe vessels at sea. The name comes from the wives of mariners who would watch for their spouses to return from the sea.
Albatross: is a sea bird that superstitious sailors feel the cry means bad luck or death.
Sonnet
Sonnets are formal poems and consist of 14 lines (3 quatrains and a couplet) , traditionally written in iambic pentameter - that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable.
poem by Amera Andersen
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Mind Movement #4
reflecting under the boughs unfurling
gazing skyward and tasting pins of light
a radiant glimmer shown like sterling
as a flock of moonbeams trip in my sight
whispering movements as a string quartet
as they rest aloft their separate branches
leaves, dancing with wind in a silhouette
and time stands still as the twilight blanches
a cumulus cluster filters leaf light
‘tis an origami of twilight opera
and my mind drinks a smile in delight
to imagine the mythical hydra
floating in memories, my reflections
crescendo of soul, natures’ connections
Author notes
Sonnet
Sonnets are formal poems and consist of 14 lines (3 quatrains and a couplet) , traditionally written in iambic pentameter - that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable.
source: shadowpoetry.com
poem by Amera Andersen
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Fourteen Verses
My passion is to write modern sonnets
Yes indeed modern not traditional.
Iambic pentameter I regret
Is too restrictive and conditional.
I had observed that many years ago.
Expression of thought is more important
Than any well-placed iamb, apropos.
These little songs* are not songs at all; shan’t
Pretend when they're not. Mine are messages
That I compose within fourteen verses:
Some assurances, other presages.
They are my work for better or for worse.
If I fail to convey in fourteen lines
I'd nothing to say and wasted your time.
* Sonnet means little song.
poem by Albert Ahearn
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Room at the Inn
An eerie feeling on the road that night,
I was cold, tired and needed some sleep.
As the dark mist parted I could see the light,
so I cocked the wheel as I turned my Jeep.
“O yes I have room”, replied the inn keep
and from a small box, he handed me keys.
I was slow to decide but I needed sleep.
“Do you want it or not? ” - I replied; “please”.
I stepped in the room, felt weak in my knees,
as the door slammed shut the terror began.
The temperature dropped about ten degrees
I’m locked in a room with that awful man.
Why didn’t that sign say “No Vacancy”,
I thought to myself, as he strangled me.
Author notes
Spenserian sonnet
The Spenserian sonnet has a rhyme pattern of:
abab bcbc cdcd ee
Here, the 'abab' pattern sets up distinct four-line groups, each of which develops a specific idea; however, the overlapping a, b, c, and d rhymes form the first 12 lines into a single unit with a separated final couplet. The three quatrains then develop three distinct but closely related ideas, with a different idea (or commentary) in the couplet.
poem by Amera Andersen
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In Pursuit Of The Sonnet
I cannot write a sonnet; it's too hard
To put such barriers around my brain
And thus I find my efforts often marred
Although I rephrase again and again
I cannot write a sonnet though I try
Through day and night, through winter, into spring
And even though I have no reason why
A ten-syllable line my thoughts won't bring.
But now I wonder just what is so great
About this 'iambic pentameter'?
And am almost resigned that it's my fate
That from the sonnet form I should defer
Yet, having spent so long in search of one
T'would be a shame if it should not be done
poem by SarahJane Platt
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Sonnet- Sonnet Needs Rhymes
Can you a Sonnet write without its rhyme?
Now people want the modern verse that's free;
As ideas get stuck and cramped with time,
A Sonnet's like leafless branches of tree!
A Sonnet's great for men who rhyme too well;
Its beauty lives in metre, rhythm, rhyme;
Yet, it can never run into 'pel-mel';
The sonneteer can write in any clime.
Why abhor rhymes and not a Sonnet write?
Each genre has its rules to comply with;
Why sleep all day and stay awake all night?
Rhyme-play is done by Kindergarden kith!
Why ridicule something you can't do well,
Much things are done by practice, Sonnets tell.
poem by John Celes
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Dust to Dust We Go
DUST TO DUST WE GO
Dawn saw fame borne away to flame no more
Undone our time, light's boon, for dust bests fun -
Sun's one hour rhyme, - night's soon sure, rust rests run.
Torn core, aims shorn, waylays true name so poor.
Thorn store shames born day's plays, few claim crow - chore
Once spun power mimes fight, loon scores crust, jest done.
Dunce - shun tower chimes' rite, noon whores' lust, gest stun.
Unpure frame, worn, frays, pays - too tame, shows flaw.
Scorn pour, lame mourn, praise phase new, game grows bore,
Turns tunnel dower, limelight’s floor just crest dun.
Won shone flower rimes, trite croon caw bust, Quest? none!
End: forlorn blame gaze stays acclaim, slows roar.
Glory for soul, some say life sends gold key,
Or we poor, sole, dumb pray strife ends, goal flee.
28 April 2009 Acrostic Sonnet DUST TO DUST WE GO
robi03_1887_robi03_0000 AQS_CDZ
NOTES:
Rhyme ABBA ABBA ABBA CC
most syllables in A lines rhyme with corresponding syllables in other A lines
most syllables in B lines rhyme with corresponding syllables in other B lines
final couplet all syllables rhyme
poem by Jonathan Robin
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Neater meter for Mr Earley
Neater meter?
I have to write a sonnet in free verse.
I must stick to Iambic pentameter.
A meter that I do not often use.
Pentameter is my more usual style.
A Sapphic meter would be so much worse.
I am more comfortable with the latter.
I find that some odd metres can confuse
a simple rhymester like me for a while.
I’m quite convinced that pentameter
makes my presentations appear neater.
It may be that you think I am obtuse
and that my simple verses make you smile.
You are entitled to your point of view.
Naturally I won’t agree with you!
11-Apr-08
Free verse sonnet
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
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Divine Force (terza Rima Sonnet)
Prayer is the answer to a troubled heart,
Challenges meant to be overcome and solved,
Faith in God is the best way to make a start.
Splendour of sunshine around- a ball of gold!
Winds-cool or stormy reach their destination,
Warm sun and wind, engulfing all in their fold.
Water, the elixir makes no distinction,
Energy giver-Fire, also smothers,
Trees do not produce fruits in isolation.
Associations-complex and a bother.
Get caught in the labyrinth, never be freed,
Life’s lessons-through experience can gather.
Getting rid of contempt, prejudice and greed
Accepting Divine Will engenders a new breed.
(The Italian form Diaspora or Terza Rima is a of indefinite length, made up of numbers of three-line stanzas or tercets. The sonnet ends with a couplet linking back to the first stanza. The rhyme scheme is such that line 2 of each stanza rhymes with lines 1 and 3 of the following stanza, creating an interlocking pattern. In the final stanza, both lines rhyme with line 2 of the preceding tercet. The Terza Rima sonnet has the following rhyme scheme, .a.b.a...b.c.b...c.d.c...d.e.d...e.e.)
Hema Ravi,13.08.09
0037 Ode to the Patience of a Yawning Audience
O come sweet sleep, and close my eyes with verse!
with drowsy metre, meet a deeper sleep;
to sleep, to dream, I never am averse -
to slumber numbed by poet's numbers deep;
so, here's a verse that's very brief - a sonnet:
just fourteen lines to challenge your attention:
please rest your weary ears, I pray, upon it;
head up; back straight; let go of any tension;
count the passing seconds to that time
-I'll indicate it with a final couplet -
when glorious English in immortal rhyme
blesses you with torpor's blissful duvet...
and after tribute paid to Orpheus' charms,
with stifled yawn, depart to Morpheus' arms...
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Attempted Sonnet
You asked, “Why don’t you write me a sonnet? ”
To be honest I’m not very good at rhyme,
Ten syllables sounds like a big struggle,
I wouldn’t stick to fourteen lines in it.
So I’m not going to do any of that.
I thought about stealing lines
From some other poems,
But I thought you’d realize what they were.
So I write this in my own words,
So let us doth go forth with prose.
How do I love thee? Let me think,
Erm, you make me feel good,
You make me smile.
I think I make you smile too,
When I’m not been stubborn.
All I can say is ‘I love you’,
Because that is what I feel.
A sonnet I can’t give you,
So all I give is this and my love,
I hope they will be enough.
© Charlie F. Kane
21/3/06
poem by Charlie F. Kane
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My First Sonnet
If I’m to write and form a little song
I’ll choose to use the English code and rules
I’ll learn the laws to lay my bricks along
The roads I build of codes with English tools
Now two will rhyme with four and one with three
I’ll split the rhyme between the stanza breaks
The last two lines will rhyme a final plea
With glee that creeps in hands of codes I make
Iambics boast control as they decide
The words to run as feet conduct the line
I’ll snare the code that hides along and strides
In quatrains forming claims of codes that shine
I’m here alas to weave and write my fun
I’m taught I’ve learned and now my sonnet’s done
poem by Paul Moosberg
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O to live and let go
If what I call an end, beginning is,
Whence new destiny dares, ‘O ye soul, grow',
When all beginnings but as end it sees,
And all ends a new beginning in toe,
Saying, ‘O let me give thee a young heart,
‘And I shall now rekindle thine spirit,
‘That thine beginning get a balmy start',
I wish my life's journey is as well lit.
If only I learn to live and let go,
And be in tune with Nature, not a beast
In fight, fright, nor flight— one that does know,
Undivided one — not a mass of mist!
Is not, what the caterpillar calls end,
Be for butterfly new birth on the bend?
_____________________________________________ ___
Sonnets often get born on the cusp of unresolved dilemmas,
as this one was. Here, after an introduction— all the eight
lines spoken as if in one breath, there comes the dilemma,
‘If only I learn to live and let go'. The sonnet ends in universal
philosophy a couplet, still unresolved.
The rhyme scheme is ababcdcd bebe ff.
__________________________________________ __________________
- Sonnets | 03.09.11 |
poem by Aniruddha Pathak
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Luc-Bat! you say
In Vietnamese Luc-Bat is a sonnet form
consisting of six and eight syllable lines
First line starts with six syllables, next eight
A 14 line rhyme pattern -
a.b.b.c./ c.d.d.e/ e.f.f.g/ g.a.
born/ fall/ all/ lush
bush/ earth/ birth/ man
Pan/ scheme/ dream/ jest
crest/ dawn
Try it in the loo!
poem by Michael Pruchnicki
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War at Home
Ever since they took him away,
to fight that God forsaken war.
I daydream in our fields all day.
They took the man that I adore.
Gazing across the windswept grass
and waiting for the time to pass.
The memory of times before,
they took the man that I adore.
I know he’ll walk across that field
with battle wounds yet still unhealed.
My broken heart can take no more,
they took the man that I adore.
Ever since they took him away,
they took the man that I adore.
Author Notes:
Kyrielle Sonnet
A Kyrielle Sonnet consists of 14 lines (three rhyming quatrain stanzas and a non-rhyming couplet) . Just like the traditional Kyrielle poem, the Kyrielle Sonnet also has a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza) . Each line within the Kyrielle Sonnet consists of only eight syllables. French poetry forms have a tendency to link back to the beginning of the poem, so common practice is to use the first and last line of the first quatrain as the ending couplet. This would also re-enforce the refrain within the poem. Therefore, a good rhyming scheme
for a Kyrielle Sonnet would be: AabB, ccbB, ddbB, AB -or- AbaB, cbcB, dbdB, AB.
poem by Amera Andersen
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0244 Trying to write a sonnet
It's a bit like a trip in a hot air balloon -
the hot air of thousands of years of
poets poetizing; all trying to float a little higher than the everyday,
just a little lower than the angels -
whoops, there's four lines gone already...
so, the first four lines or so say
where you're taking this trip from, hoping
to arrive somewhere quite new and unexpected
after fourteen lines, otherwise
why take the trip at all?
so, fire up the burner of ambition, whatever,
and we're into the second four lines now;
floating in an easy, silent, gently breeze-blown world,
a poet's paradise,
where the mind is stilled, the beauty of the landscape
almost beyond words (ha!) : all perspectives on the world
altered; but do we know now where we're heading?
It's a cool way of experiencing altered state
without illegal substances. Take out the notebook,
try to describe it, just in case
someone reads it; at least it might
encourage them to take the trip themself.
And now we're into the last six lines
which, the pundits say, should introduce
some new insight, some viewpoint on the world;
you've had your chance; has the trip been worthwhile?
the balloon's gone higher, the landscape stretches out,
greener than a politician's promise...
Floating above the green fields, the concrete and the smog,
the unexpected words from the ground heard crystal clear -
have new thoughts, new visions, come, in this poet's paradise?
And now so soon, the final couplet - which the pundits of today
condemn as the valueless whistling in the dark,
the false claim to cultural certainties -
so beware: take all your humility in hand like
a doffed Elizabethan cap: will that final couplet be
the clunk-click of the safety belt's banality? The
front-door clack of Alexander Pope's front door,
before the scrape of sharpened pen, the mellow smell
of candlelight on paper that will ring the world
like thought-fired, savage Georgian hot-air balloon?
Or the clang of oven door in Belsen, Dachau, Buchenwald?
For the poet, just fourteen lines: heaven and earth,
truth and lies, life and death, Icarus 's fate,
all these, for his few hours, depend upon it;
but I digress; I should have writ a sonnet..
poem by Michael Shepherd
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