3 Ways to Write a Sonnet

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3 Ways to Write a Sonnet
3 Ways to Write a Sonnet

Video: 3 Ways to Write a Sonnet

Video: 3 Ways to Write a Sonnet
Video: How to Write a Sonnet 3 Easy Ways to Follow 2024, March
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Although the sonnet is defined by the general rule as a poetic form consisting of 14 verses and an iambic pentameter meter, there is a significant difference between the two most common forms: the Shakespearean (or English sonnet) and the Petrarchian (or Italian). This article will explain how to stay true to the spirit of each form and discuss ways to explore the sonnet's expansive possibilities through lesser-known forms.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Writing a Shakespearean Sonnet

Write a Sonnet Step 1
Write a Sonnet Step 1

Step 1. Use the Shakespearean rhyming scheme

If you are a beginner, the English sonnet is a good way to start, as it has a more regular and straightforward rhyming scheme and structure. The rhyming scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet always follows the following pattern:

  • ABABCCDEFEFGG
  • These letters represent the sound that appears at the end of each verse.
  • So, following this pattern of alternating rhymes, we find that the last words of the first and third verse must rhyme, as well as the second and fourth, the fifth and seventh, the sixth and eighth, and so on, ending with a couplet that rhymes.
Write a Sonnet Step 2
Write a Sonnet Step 2

Step 2. Write the verses in iambic pentameter

The iambic pentameter is a type of poetic meter, that is, a way of measuring the rhythm of a verse. This meter is quite regular and one of the most common in English language poetry.

  • The term "pentameter" is derived from the Greek word comb (five), so it has five poetic "feet". Each foot is a unit of two syllables; therefore, each verse of a pentameter has ten syllables.
  • The term "iambic" means that each foot is an "iambo". Iambos are composed of an unstressed syllable followed by a stress, resulting in a "ta-DUM" rhythm. The word "o-THERE" is an example of an iambic foot.
  • Thus, an iambic pentameter verse has five iambic feet, resulting in a 10-syllable rhythm of ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM.
  • An example of an iambic pentameter verse is: "Shall I / comPARE/ thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY?" (from Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18").
Write a Sonnet Step 3
Write a Sonnet Step 3

Step 3. Vary your metric from time to time

Although most verses in an English sonnet should be written in iambic pentameter, the rhythm can become laborious and predictable if you only use that meter. By slightly varying the emphasis pattern at key moments, you can break the pace and make the poem more interesting to the reader, and you can use the variation to call attention to important phrases in your poem.

  • For example, the third verse of Shakespeare's “Sonnet 18” begins with a spondeu, that is, two stressed syllables in sequence: TUM-DUM.
  • After two lines of perfect iambic pentameter, he wrote: "ROUGH WINDS / from SHAKE / the DAR / ling BUDS / of MAY."
  • This artifice, in addition to breaking the rhythm with a slight variation, draws attention to the strength of the described wind.
Write a Sonnet Step 4
Write a Sonnet Step 4

Step 4. Follow the stanza structure of the Shakespearean sonnet

This type of sonnet is composed of three heroic quartets and a heroic couplet. A heroic quartet is a group of four verses in iambic pentameter with ABAB rhyming scheme. A heroic couplet is a pair of lines in iambic pentameter with an AA rhyme scheme.

  • In an English sonnet, the three heroic quartets are the “ABAB CDCD EFEF” portion of the rhyming scheme.
  • The heroic couplet is the closing “GG”.
  • You can either separate these stanzas with blank lines or leave them all together in an undivided poem, but the sonnet should follow as a function of these discrete stanzas.
Write a Sonnet Step 5
Write a Sonnet Step 5

Step 5. Develop your stanzas carefully

Although the poem should have a single focus, each stanza should further develop the idea. Think of each quartet as a little thought bubble, like a paragraph, in which you explore an element of the poem's subject matter. Each one of them will have to follow towards the final couplet, where there will be a change or a return. This shift, which occurs in the 13th line of the Shakespearean sonnet, offers a resolution or understanding for the problem developed in the first three quartets. For a better understanding, we can examine Shakespeare's "Sonnet 30" as an example:

  • The first quartet introduces the situation: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought; I summon up remembrance of things past (When to the silent court of thinking; I summon the memories of the past). This quartet uses legal terminology to convey the idea: “sessions” (court) and “summon” (summon).
  • The second quartet begins with the transient word “Then,” suggesting a connection to the first quartet and a continuity in the development of the idea: Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow; for precious friends hid in death's dateless night; and weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe; and moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight.. In this quartet, he uses the language of commerce to develop the idea: “expense” (expense).
  • The third quartet again introduces the transitional word “Then” and continues to develop the idea using terms from the language of commerce, such as “accounts” and “pay”: Then can I grieve at grievances foregone; and heavily from woe to woe tell o'er; the sad account of fore-bemoaned moan; which I new pay as if not paid before.
  • The closing couplet marks a change with the word “But”, which suggests that this is not a continuation but rather a new thought. There is no resolution to the problem of grief here, but a revelation of loss and grief emerges: But if the while I think on thee, dear friend; all losses are restore'd and sorrows end (But, my friend, if I think about you for a moment, the losses are gone and the suffering ends). Again, this couplet also uses commercial language ("losses").
Write a Sonnet Step 6
Write a Sonnet Step 6

Step 6. Choose your theme carefully

While you can write a Shakespearean sonnet on any subject, these are traditionally love poems; keep this information in mind if you want to write a purely traditional sonnet.

  • Also note that, because of the English sonnet's heavy opening stanza structure, the form doesn't bend very well to very complex or abstract subjects. Change and resolution should come quickly in the final two verses, so choose an issue that can be easily resolved with an ingenious closing couplet.
  • If you have a more contemplative theme, a Petrarchian sonnet might be better for expressing yourself.
Write a Sonnet Step 7
Write a Sonnet Step 7

Step 7. Write your Shakespearean sonnet

Remember to follow the rhyming scheme, write in iambic pentameter while inserting metric variations from time to time, and develop the theme in each of the heroic quartets before offering a change and resolution/understanding to the closing heroic couplet.

Use a rhyming dictionary if you are having trouble finding options for the endings of verses

Method 2 of 3: Writing a Petrarchian Sonnet

Write a Sonnet Step 8
Write a Sonnet Step 8

Step 1. Use the petrarchian sonnet rhyming scheme

While the English sonnet always works with the same rhyming scheme, the Italian does not follow any pattern. Although the first eight verses always follow an ABBAABBA rhyming scheme, the closing six lines bring some variation. However, there are five patterns that are most common in the Petrarchian sonnet tradition:

  • CDCDCD
  • CDDCDC
  • CDECDE
  • CDECTED
  • CDCEDC
Write a Sonnet Step 9
Write a Sonnet Step 9

Step 2. Use the same iambic pentameter metric that the Shakespearean sonnet employs

All lines should follow the outline "ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM", but don't forget to insert a metric variation every now and then to liven up the rhythm and draw attention to key phrases.

Write a Sonnet Step 10
Write a Sonnet Step 10

Step 3. Develop the content as per the demand of the stanza structure

While the Shakespearean sonnet has a heavy initial structure, with three quartets and a couplet, the Italian is a little more balanced, using an octet and a sextet to develop the poem's subject matter. In this way, it is more suited to complex subjects that need a lot of space for their development, as opposed to the easy and ingenious resolution of the final couplet of the English sonnet. The octet introduces and presents a problem. The turn, or change, takes place at the beginning of the sextet (verse 9). The sextet offers a new understanding of the dilemma presented in quartets. Consider William Wordsworth's poem “Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room” as an example for analysis:

  • The octet progresses with a series of examples of creatures and people who don't mind restricted spaces.
  • The progression goes from the most revered elements of society to the lowest: from nuns to hermits, then academics, manual workers and insects.
  • The turn actually happens one verse earlier, at the end of the octet. Although not traditional, poets have experimented with form throughout history and manipulated it according to their needs. Feel free to do the same.
  • In line 8, the term “In truth” marks the loop; at this point, the author will talk more about the idea of being comfortable in confined spaces.
  • The sextet suggests that the sonnet's formal restrictions, with its rhyming scheme, meter, and rigid stanza structure, are not a prison, but rather a way for the poet to break free and find "comfort." He hopes the reader will also share that feeling.
  • The final six verses provide a revelation that allows us to consider all the people and things present in the octet with a deeper understanding.
Write a Sonnet Step 11
Write a Sonnet Step 11

Step 4. Write your Petrarchian sonnet

As with the Shakespearean sonnet, remember the Petrarchian rhyme scheme and stanza structure, and don't forget to write in iambic pentameters, with occasional meter variation. Note that, just as Wordsworth did in the sonnet, by anticipating the turn, you can manipulate the shape to suit the needs of the poem you're trying to write. The sonnet has changed in many ways throughout history, so do whatever it takes to make it all right.

An example of a Petrarchian sonnet that beautifully manipulates form to prove something is Edna St. Vincent Millay's "I Will Put Chaos into Fourteen Lines," a sonnet about the writing of a sonnet. She uses the Italian meter and rhyme system, but breaks the lines with "ridings" (cutting the line in half of a sentence or sentence) and occasional breaks in the meter to emphasize the dispute with the form of the sonnet itself

Method 3 of 3: Experiencing Less Common Sonnet Forms

Write a Sonnet Step 12
Write a Sonnet Step 12

Step 1. Explore proportion with the curtal sonnet

This form was invented by Gerard Manley Hopkins and its name derives from the “shortened” nature of the manipulation of the Italian sonnet. Mathematically, the curtal sonnet is precisely 3/4 of a Petrarchian sonnet if reduced proportionately. By experimenting with this shape, you can explore how the Italian sonnet's proportion works in a more concise space. When moving from the complete Petrarchian structure to the condensed short structure, consider whether or not there is a change in the relationship between the two parts of the poem.

  • The curtal sonnet is composed of a sextet with an ABCABC rhyming scheme and a quintet with a DCBDC or DBCDC rhyming scheme.
  • Although it appears to be 11 verses, which is a little more than 3/4 of the normal 14-line Petrarchian sonnet, it actually has 10 and a half verses. That's because the final verse of the curtal sonnet is half an iambic pentameter line – sometimes even less.
  • Apart from the last line, the curtal sonnet is still written in iambic pentameter.
  • Hopkins' “Pied Beauty” is a famous example of a curtal sonnet. Note that the final verse, “Praise him”, truncates line 11 to the 3/4 proportion proposed by the author.
Write a Sonnet Step 13
Write a Sonnet Step 13

Step 2. Play with line breaks and fluidity using Milton's Sonnet

This form, developed by John Milton, also uses the Petrarchian sonnet as a base and is almost identical to it in form. However, the Petrarchian sonnet treats the octet and sextet as two discrete sections separated by a shift. Milton wanted to explore what would happen to the Petrarchian sonnet when you remove all separations from the poem.

  • The Miltonian sonnet has a Petrarchian rhyming scheme ABBAABBACDECDE and is written in iambic pentameter.
  • However, he omits the shift at the beginning of the sextet, emphasizing "riding" instead.
  • When breaking a verse or a stanza in some place other than a logical syntactic ending (in a place where you would normally find a period, a comma, or a semicolon), that verse or stanza is said to be overlapped. An example of a crooked line is: "God doth not need / Either man's works or his own gifts: who best / Bear his mild yolk, / they serve him best." who better / carry his light yoke / will serve him best) (Milton, “On His Blindness”).
  • See Milton's poem "On His Blindness," for an example of a Miltonian sonnet. Note how he makes use of the cavalcade in both the individual verses and the union of octet and sextet.
Write a Sonnet Step 14
Write a Sonnet Step 14

Step 3. Explore a different kind of rhyme pattern using the Spesserian sonnet

While the Kurtish and Miltonian sonnets used the Petrarchian as a basis, the Spesserian, created by Edmund Spenser, was modeled on the Shakespearean sonnet. However, he explores an interlocking rhyme scheme.

  • The sonnet is composed of three heroic quartets and a heroic couplet, just like the English sonnet. Furthermore, it is also written in iambic pentameter.
  • However, the rhyming scheme is different from the Shakespearean system in that the second rhyme of each quartet becomes the first of the next quartet.
  • The result is an ABAB BCBC CDCD EE rhyme scheme.
  • Contrast it with the scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
  • The intertwined rhyme scheme results in three quartets deeply linked by the sound of the repeated rhymes, especially in the transition between them, when the second rhyme of one stanza is immediately repeated in the first rhyme of the next.
  • Just as the Miltonian stanza explores the relationship between parts of the Petrarchian sonnet using line breaks and dovetails, the Spesserian sonnet explores the relationship between parts of the Shakespearean sonnet using intertwined rhyme patterns.
Write a Sonnet Step 15
Write a Sonnet Step 15

Step 4. Explore shorter stanzas and different rhyme schemes using the terza rhyme sonnet

With the exception of the short sonnets, all the forms we've seen so far made use of quartets in the first section. The terza rhyme sonnet, however, is written using interlaced triplets.

  • It is also written in iambic pentameter and has 14 lines.
  • However, his rhyming scheme is ABA BCB CDC DAD AA. Note that the "A" rhyme of the opening triplet is repeated in the sandwich ending of the fourth triplet and also in the rhyme of the closing heroic couplet.
  • The terza rhyme further demands that the writer create a relationship between the stanzas developed not only through the theme but also through the sound.
  • By dividing the first part of the poem into groups of three lines instead of four, the shape makes you have to develop the ideas in each stanza more quickly and concisely.
  • An example of a sonnet in this form is Robert Frost's “Acquainted with the Night”.
Write a Sonnet Step 16
Write a Sonnet Step 16

Step 5. Try out the shapes any way you want

The variety of forms presented so far shows us that, throughout history, poets have taken more and more liberties when writing a sonnet. Although it became important with Petrarch (from whom it derives the name “Petrarchian sonnet”), the form has evolved greatly in the hands of British poets such as Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and, of course, Shakespeare, who gave it to it. greater popularity. However, since Hopkins, Milton, and Spenser felt free to change the rules of the two more established sonnet forms, you should feel that way too. Some of the aspects you can explore are:

  • The length of the verse – what changes when you write a sonnet in iambic tetrameter (four iambic feet: ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM ta-DUM) instead of iambic pentameter?
  • Metric – what happens when you drop the iambic metric rhythm, ta-DUM, completely? Consider the poem “Carrion Comfort” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, which follows all the rules of the Petrarchian sonnet except the meter of the iambic pentameter.
  • Rhyming scheme – what happens when writing the octet of the Petrarchian sonnet in heroic couplets (AA BB CC DD) instead of repeated Italian quartets (ABBAABBA)?
  • Does a sonnet need to rhyme? Many contemporary writers are not concerned about this. See the sonnet “[When the bed is empty…]” by Dawn Lundy for an example.

Tips

  • Try to read stressed syllables harder and louder; this will facilitate the use of the iambic pentameter. You can also slap your hand on a table or clap your hands to emphasize the beat of the rhythm.
  • Read as many different types of sonnets as you can find. The more familiar you become with the form, the more capable you will be of writing your own sonnets.

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