Poet's Workshop

photo by Gerry Williams

How to Write A Sonnet by Terrie Leigh Relf ©2002 All rights reserved

Why write a sonnet?

Why not?

Sure, they’re challenging. Sure, you’ll probably need a new mouse after banging your current one almost to death trying to find a fresh rhyme. But when you write a good one, trust me, you’ll gloat. Then, when you meet someone at a local café and they ask you what you do, you can hold up your head, say, "I write sonnets," rather than "I channel surf when the game’s not on."

Themes? Better than network TV—or cable. I don’t care if you have a satellite dish with a gazillion stations, composing sonnets is much more intriguing.

There’s love and longing. Unrequited love also receives top ratings. Bring in the tortured psyche, the universe gone awry, an autumn day in the park, and you have the stuff of which this form of poetry is made. Sonnets also discuss sticky wickets: what you may or may not have done last night after imbibing several Guinness with Glenfiddich backs; whether you are too old, too young, or too jaded to walk down that dark alley during a full moon; or how the DOW Jones average affects your mental, emotional, physical or spiritual prowess.

Then there’s the matter of those difficult to define absolutes like beauty, harmony, the meaning of life, not to mention that annoying fly that always circles your double mocha with extra whipped cream and chocolate.

Oh, so you like variety? Like to mix-it-up a bit, too? Don’t worry, there are several different types of sonnets: the Italian, or Petrarchan; the Spenserian; the English, or Shakespearean; and the modern, which Nelson Miller (see site below) calls "the Indefinable". There are others, but these are the ones with which poetry’s lovers, readers and writers are the most familiar.

Each of these sonnet forms have line lengths of ten syllables in iambic pentamenter. That would be the proverbial, "da-dah, da-dah, da-dah, da-dah, da-dah," that you’ve heard so much about. The accent is supposed to be on the second syllable of a two-syllable word. Adjust accordingly for single or multiple syllables. This is beginning to sound like Music 101, isn’t it? There’s a Muse in Music (bad, bad, I know), so please read your sonnet aloud. Tapping your pencil, clicking your pen in-and-out, or employing a non-human techno-gadget (AKA a metronome) is also helpful.

The Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet is a 14-line poem comprised of two sections: the octave and the sestet, or an 8-line section followed by a 6-line section. The octave’s rhyme scheme is abbaabba, followed by the sestet’s that is cdcdcd, or variations thereof. The volta, or turn, is an essential aspect of the sonnet form, and can be found in various lines—even in the final line. A shift in rhyme usually indicates a shift in subject.

The Spenserian sonnet is a 14-line poem comprised of three 4-line sections, each posing a different subject or idea, followed by a couplet. The rhyme scheme is: a b a b b c b c c d c d e e.

The English, or Shakespearen, sonnet also consists of 14 lines. It is said to be the more flexible form. It consists of three quatrains and a couplet, with the following rhyme scheme: ababcbcdefefgg (notice that there is a d without a rhyme).The volta is often found in line 9.

So, now that you’ve dipped your quill, it’s time to begin!

How do I get started? Well, after reading several sonnets to get in the mood (Shakespeare is still one of my all-time favorites!), I write numbers and rhyme schemes down the left side of my SIP (sonnet-in-progress). Once I’ve played around with a few subjects, scenes, or characters, and there is actually something to work with, I list the rhyme scheme at the end of the lines, too. I also make notes to remind myself what point I’m trying to make—or discover, as is usually the case. And yes, I use the rhyming dictionary; but I also make lists of words that directly and/or indirectly rhyme. All it takes is one word to change the direction of the poem…

I wrote one (okay, this was the best one of the lot) to give you an idea of what would be construed as a "modern" sonnet. With an ababababababababcc pattern, it would fall into the "indefinable" category, even though I did "borrow" the pattern from one of Willie’s. Call this one a work-in-process…I’m planning to revise it in all the above forms to see what might arise!

Tea with Shakespeare

T’was a blustery day, as fall encroached,
that I designed to meet the man for tea.
He gazed up from writing as I approached,
alas, annoyed, as with a pesky flea!
Forsooth, he thought himself beyond reproach,
this man to whom time has clung preciously,
yet upon his scone did rest, a cockroach!
Amazed he noticed not my misery,
I sought to gain his attention, to broach
the subject of my writing and to please
consider me somewhat worthy to coach.
He wrote on, ignored my soliloquy.

At last he deigned to meet mine eyes, confused,
"methinks you’ve mistaken me for some Muse."


Sonnet Sites Galore:

If you’re going to write sonnets, then you simply must read Shakespeare! Plug in a word at this site, and it will bring up all the sonnets where Shakespeare used it. I typed in "stars", and seven sonnets appeared: 14, 15, 25, 26, 28, 116, and 132. Hence my belief that if Shakespeare were alive today, he would be writing SF! http://theory2.phys.cwru.edu/cgi-bin/sonnets

Another "must read" is Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s collection, Sonnets from the Portuguese: http://www.sonnets.org/brownine.htm

This is one of my personal favorite sites. They held a sonnet competition in October, which I was unable to enter because I was writing this column (ah, the sacrifices we poetry editors must make…) Book mark it, and check out the winners:
http://www.sol-magazine.com

Now here’s an excellent site with detailed information on writing several different sonnet forms. Caps off to Nelson Miller’s "Basic Sonnet Forms", from Cayuse Press’ Writers Exchange board. Available at: http://www.sonnets.org/basicforms.htm

Dictionaries and other essential tools:
Yes, you are going to need a few good rhyming dictionaries. While you’re at it, check out etymologies for the historical origins of words.

At The RhymeZone, you can plug in a particularly pesky word and come up with a selection of words that "sound like" that word. Be sure to get out that dictionary (hand-held, AKA a book, or an online version will do) to clarify meanings. In fact, you can even use this site to cross-reference definitions from a variety of sources: http://www.rhymezone.com/

"Reference Resources for English Literature, with an emphasis on poetry" has a nice bibliography:
http://acadprojwww.wlu.edu/vol4/BlackmerH/public_html/xliberty/eng301/eng301.html

Q&A Section

Q: How do you critique a poem?

A: There are a number of ways to critique a poem. We’re taught how to critique in school (supposedly), but when it gets down to it, I’ve noticed many people critique based on whether they like it or not. In other words, if they like it, it’s good; it they don’t like it, then it’s bad.

What’s "wrong" with that scenario?

Well, you may not like a poem, it may not "speak" to you, move you to emote, give you the chills, and all that good stuff, but it may still be "good"—or someone else may think it’s good. Hey—it may even win a prize.

But let’s forget about the "good, the bad, and the ugly", and focus on whether a poem "works". Experience is definitely going to vary on that, too. I can hear the voices: "it works for me. It doesn’t work for me. It might work for me if (fill in blank here)" and so forth.

That’s right, critiquing is a subjective process. It can, however, be an objective one as well. If you were sitting in my classroom, I’d start babbling about literary canons, consensus, and other choice bits of academic drivel, while simultaneously attempting to subvert all that. But since you’re not sitting in my classroom, here are a few things to consider:

(NOTE: These guidelines work with group critiquing as well as with critiquing your own work.)

Read the poem several times—both aloud and silently. If the author is present, have them read it aloud. You can often "hear" interpretive nuances which may not be present in your own reading; Is the poem written in a particular form (e.g., a sonnet, free verse, haiku, ballade, cinquain, etc.)? If so, then there are specific guidelines. If you don’t know them, then look them up. Ask the poet to explain them to you. Try one yourself (see how this escalates?); What about the language of the poem? Is it consistent, does it shift, is that shift intentional (e.g., from formal to informal, etc.). Suggest alternate word choices, if necessary. If a word doesn’t "work" for you, then it’s important to explain why—if even to yourself.

What about the tone—or mood/personality—of the poem? What emotions are being conveyed? Is the narrative voice present? Absent? Sarcastic? Playful? Deeply saddened?;
What about figurative language? (e.g., metaphors, similies, clichés, etc.);
Does the poem rhyme? Does the rhyme add to or detract from the poem? Get thee to a rhyming dictionary, suggest alternate rhymes or assonance, etc.;
Does the poem tell a story? Make a philosophical point? Is it a "sound" poem? Is there enough story told? Is the point clear? What effects do the sounds have on you? Not have on you?
What about format? Line ends? Spaces? Stanzas? Does the poet use the entire page in a system all their own? Again, this is where reading aloud and/or having the poet present (if it’s your poem, hopefully you’ll be present) is helpful. Did you mean to pause there? What if this word were placed on this line instead?
Punctuation? Yes? No? Maybe? Never?

A poem can "cause" a reader to think, feel, breathe, stop breathing—even attain enlightenment. What does it do for you? What happens mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually when you immerse yourself within it? This is "all" part of the poem; and
in the immortal words of Archibald MacLeish, from his poem, Ars Poetica: "A poem should not mean, but be."

See the entire draft of this poem at The Archibald MacLeish Index:
http://www.hearts-ease.org/cgi-bin/library_index.cgi?ID=24

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