Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Creative Writing: Sonnet Update


Trying to write a poem for my collaborative poetry project, and for fun this month I decided to try out difference styles.  This week I landed on Shakespearean sonnet and wow is it difficult.

Currently, Google has given me the following tips:

The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

In the first quatrain the exposition of the main theme/metaphor is introduced.  In the second quatrain the theme/metaphor is extended/complicated with an imaginative example.  In the third quatrain the twist/conflict is introduced (the 9th line usually starts with "but").  And in the final couplet the poem summarizes with a new concluding image.

It is written in iambic pentameter, in which each line is 10 syllables; five pairs of "iambs", in which each iamb has a stressed/unstressed syllable pairing.

So far I've been trying to write the general theme and imagery before working it into an actual sonnet form, but figuring out syllables is super difficult for me.  I even have an online syllable counter to help me figure out the syllables and an online rhyming dictionary for easy inspiration.

The submission is due at the end of every week, so I have some time, but I have a feeling I'll be needing every day for it if it keeps proving to be as difficult as it has today.

Each month also has a theme, and I chose the one for this month, so I have a frame work for what I want to talk about.  However, I don't want to reveal it here, as I know we will want to publish the entire series in full at the end of the summer.

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