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Monday, November 26, 2007

Monday Poetry Stretch - Sonnet (Italian Form)

Gulp. Yes, you read that right. Sonnet.

I did this really crazy thing last week. When Liz Garton Scanlon wrote to ask if I wanted to participate in writing a crown sonnet with a group of Poetry Friday bloggers, I said YES! I am thrilled (and more than a bit intimated) about joining these amazing writers for this project.
Now that I'm committed, I need to practice. So, this week's stretch takes the form of the sonnet. Since we will be using the Italian form for our crown sonnet, that's the form I propose we stretch with.

Here are the basic guidelines to follow.
  • A sonnet is composed of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter.
  • The Italian sonnet is divided into an octave (8 lines), followed by a sestet (6 lines).
  • The rhyme pattern for the octave is a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a. For the sestet the pattern can be c-d-e-c-d-e or c-d-c-c-d-c.
You can read more on sonnets in this great post by Kelly Fineman.

If you could see me now, you'd see a serious "deer in the headlights" look on my face. Are you with me? What kind of sonnet will you write? Give it a whirl and then leave me a comment about your poem. Later this week I'll post the results.
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7 comments:

  1. Sara11/26/2007 5:51 PM

    Don't worry, Tricia. The form holds you up---it really does. I think I'm going to blog about my experience writing my first sonnet; it was incredibly fun. So, yeah, really...believe me, you'll love it.

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  2. Anonymous11/27/2007 10:10 AM

    I have been here a couple of times, and I'm always quite impressed. Not sure if you have heard or have any interest, but there is a poetry contest that has a top prize of $10,000 and other prizes. Just click my name for the site. Whatever you do, just keep writing...

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  3. Anonymous11/27/2007 1:15 PM

    Oh, crazy shmazy...
    It's gonna be awesome!
    (Now we'll see who's crazy -- oops, I mean -- gutsy enough to take you up on the stretch :)

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  4. Vivian Mahoney11/28/2007 12:37 AM

    You'll do awesome! I cannot wait to read this crown sonnet!

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  5. Anonymous11/28/2007 3:16 PM

    OK, I gave it a try. God. That was scary. My poem's up at http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/21846.html. Thank you for prompting me to practice, though. I, too, have that deer in headlights look. I love forms but can't remember the last time I attempted a sonnet.

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  6. sister AE11/28/2007 8:33 PM

    Here's mine - I've only written a few sonnets (mostly English form), but I'm getting a bit better at them.

    http://havingwrit.blogspot.com/2007/11/butterfly-patience.html

    or click
    Butterfly Patience

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  7. Andromeda Jazmon11/29/2007 3:52 PM

    I Lordy do I need the practice on this one! I'll be working on it but don't think I'll post one this week.

    ReplyDelete