Sonnets

**Gleber2** · 17-Sep-06, 22:30

Haiku, with three lines, can be tricky but how would we cope with the strict rules of the fourteen line sonnet in Italian or Elizabethan style. Any takers???? There must be afficianados of this style of poetry which is my favorite poetic form. Let's see them!!!

**Gleber2** · 18-Sep-06, 01:37

This sonnet in the Shakespearian style is dedicated to my friends and protagonists, Gleeber and Golach.

On Hidden Knowledge.

In each man's life a time must surely come
When understanding shines like dawns clear light,
When answers come unbidden and the sum
Of mankind's hidden knowledge shines so bright.

To know the long lost secrets of the soul,
To find the key which unlocks nature's store,
To earn this wisdom should be each man's goal,
And he who seeks will never ask for more.

Behind the mind where untold riches lie
Is where to seek if wisdom is desired.
There is no price, one only needs to try,
Remaining clear with raw ambition fired.

And then the doors will surely open wide,
But always will be closed if sought with pride.

**trinkie** · 18-Sep-06, 07:29

I did enjoy that.... Thank you.

'' A time must surely come '' ?? I wonder, I hope !

I think the secret to it all is Patience. Not easy but worth a try.

I will copy this off for my Book if I may please, and re-read it many times.

Trinkie

**phoenix** · 18-Sep-06, 08:38

Liked that Gleber2!

**Sporran** · 18-Sep-06, 17:02

Super sonnet, Gleber2!

**Gleber2** · 19-Sep-06, 12:44

Are there no other writers of sonnets out there?? Please post if there are.
If there are sonnet hopefuls who know not the rules, tell me and I shall explain.

**trinkie** · 19-Sep-06, 12:52

Yes, Please explain - it looks too difficult.

Are there many rules? I cant stand rules, but I'm willing to have a go.

**canuck** · 19-Sep-06, 15:02

Originally Posted by Gleber2

Are there no other writers of sonnets out there?? Please post if there are.
If there are sonnet hopefuls who know not the rules, tell me and I shall explain.

Oh please explain. Let's give it a go. As my mother often says, "you can't learn any younger." It has been 40 years since I even considered writing a sonnet. I am sure that life experience has given me all kinds of subjects that I can now be passionate about.

**Sporran** · 19-Sep-06, 16:11

I might have a go too, G2. Why don't you post the rules here for everyone to see, eh?

**Gleber2** · 19-Sep-06, 16:45

Originally Posted by Sporran

I might have a go too, G2. Why don't you post the rules here for everyone to see, eh?

There are several different type of sonnet, the Italian or Petrarchan, Elizabethan or Shakespearian and the Spencerian. In common is the number of lines ie 14. I will explain firstly the Elizabethan which is probably the simplest.
Fourteen lines arranged in three verses of four and the couplet at the end. The rhyme scheme is AB AB CD CD EF EF GG. The couplet is supposed to be the sting in the tail that can reverse the whole meaning of the poem.
Each line is Iambic Pentameter which means that it should scan di daa di daa di daa di daa di daa. Five feet.

I will cover the other forms when this one produces results.

The poem I posted at the beginning of the thread follows these rules. (I hope).

Bon Chance!!!!!!!

**Saveman** · 19-Sep-06, 18:21

OK, here we go........if I've got it all wrong then please correct me....

On What the Future May Bring.

When that bright day had dawned upon the Earth,
And green the grass had grown in all the fields,
I stepped out in the dew and seen the birth,
for more than day that morn had been revealed.

The birth of day was not the only thing,
I seen that shook me to my very bones,
In this fair country that once had sea kings,
I realized I had now been left alone.

Gone were all the buzzing things and winged
Gone were the cows and sheep of days gone by,
All the insects and sweet bees had springed
Into the great big meadow in the sky.

Radiation cannot harm us they said,
I can’t tell them they’re wrong when I am dead.

**Gleber2** · 19-Sep-06, 18:56

Very commendable first effort Mr Saveman. 'Springed' was almost unforgivable and some of the feet debatable but all in all IMHO a darn good first. BTWE seen should be saw, n'est ce pas?

**Sporran** · 19-Sep-06, 19:21

Saveman, I'm very impressed with your first sonnet - well done!!

Write some more, s'il vous plait....

**scotsboy** · 19-Sep-06, 19:31

Awoken by a foreign sound
In a room that was strange to my waking eyes
As I stared, wondering what was all around
I remembered where, it was no surprise

Under the shower to freshen my day
Washing away the dreams of the night
Remembering what was to come, what would I say?
I’ll think of something, I’ll get it right

Out in the sun, burning my skin
Sweat from the work as I toil in the heat
Why did I leave it so late to begin?
Should I give up, beat a hasty retreat?

Stay and finish what you started my friend
It’ll soon be over; it’ll soon be the end.

**Kenn** · 19-Sep-06, 19:56

The Merry Maidens danced but dance no more.
The pipe has blown it's last.
Eight lichen covered stones above the shore
Swept by a salty blast.

But still they stand and seem to stare
And speak of things long past.
Can you hear the ancient music in the air?
Can you see them whirling fast?

Now bend your mind and with the dancers go,
Linking arms around the waist.
Feel the beat through your body flow,
To the dance make haste,make haste.

Turned to stone The Christians say
Those who dared to dance upon the Sabbath day.

**Gleber2** · 19-Sep-06, 20:13

On Sonnets.

The sonnet is a form with such strict laws,
That poets can sometimes become insane.
The finding of a rhyme, like clutching straws,
Can tend to overcome the fumbling brain.

From Petrarch, Shakespear, Milton, Spencer too,
Came the rules to which mere mortals cleave,
And, as mere mortals search for something new,
The magic of the words begin to weave.

As music soothes the soul of he who hears,
The sonnet soothes the mind of he who reads,
The rhythm of the lines so sparkling clear,
Can help each man to see where poets lead.

Or is this form, to you, a waste of time,
And never to be seen as joy sublime.

The number of feet per line is crucial and must be five ie Iambic pentameter.
Un-accented, accented five time. This is one of the most basic rules of sonnet writing and all of the contributions, although lovely poems in their own right, are not exactly sonnets.

I know, I'm a heartless pedant!!!!!!