I have to write a Shakespearian Sonnet in class and am stuck!.
Any tips, or suggestions for writing a sonnet would be helpful!. also any topics that would be good for writing one!.
Thankyou!Www@QuestionHome@Com
| Question Home |
Position:Home>Poetry> Sonnet writing help?Question: Sonnet writing help!? I have to write a Shakespearian Sonnet in class and am stuck!.
Any tips, or suggestions for writing a sonnet would be helpful!. also any topics that would be good for writing one!. Thankyou!Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Here are the steps I would take: 1) Think of a subject for the poem!. 2) Think of three connected images that illustrate the subject!. Write a quatrain for each one!. In a Shakespearean quatrain, the rhyme is on alternating lines: ABAB, and ideally every odd syllable in each line is stressed!. 3) Now think of a way to draw your images together!. Write a couplet that does this!. The couplet has the same rhythm, but is just two rhymed lines!. Here is an example from Shakespeare (Sonnet 7, a sunrise poem!.) Three images: Image 1) The sun is like the head of a king or god, and when it rises, every eye on earth rises to look at it!. Image 2) The sky is like a hill, and the sun a climber!. Noon is like middle-age, and this is when the sun is brightest!. Image 3) Evening is like old age, and people stop admiring the sun!. You can see the religious ideas that connect these images: first people do `homage' (line 3) to his `sacred majesty' (line 4); then `mortal looks' (line 7) adore his `pilgrimage' (line 8); finally at night, when people look away, they are `converted' (line 11) from his religion to `low tracts' (line 12)!. More generally, all three images use personification!. Couplet) The couplet connects the images with the idea of a new day, and a pun on sun/son!. The poet tells the middle-aged listener that there will be no new day unless he `get [beget] a son!.' To write a sonnet in the style of Shakespeare's, you need to think in connected images like this!. Actually, according to some critics this is one of Shakespeare's worst sonnets!. Most are far more intricate; but this one illustrates the method quite well!. The biggest decision in writing a sonnet is deciding on the type of relationship the three quatrains share!. Good luck-- do post your result here if you would like!.Www@QuestionHome@Com A subject for writing sonnets or basically any type of poem is something other people can relate to!. Your audience must be able to picture it in their head, understand what you're trying to say or express, and feel the vibe or emotion of the poem!.Www@QuestionHome@Com This link will provide all that you need http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Shakespeare!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |