'Fool,' said my Muse to me, 'look in thy heart, and write. Thus great with child to speak and helpless in my throes,īiting my truant pen, beating myself for spite, Invention, Nature's child, fled step-dame Study's blows Īnd others' feet still seem'd but strangers in my way. Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburn'd brain.īut words came halting forth, wanting invention's stay Oft turning others' leaves, to see if thence would flow Studying inventions fine her wits to entertain, I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain,. Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know, That she, dear she, might take some pleasure of my pain,. "Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show, "Astrophil and Stella 1," the first of 108 sonnets and songs in Philip Sidney's set, creates the opening scene for this love story. Even though Shakespeare did not invent this sonnet style, he was among the most prolific, writing 154 in his lifetime. Other notable authors include Michael Drayton, Fulke Greville, and, of course, William Shakespeare.
Now that you know how to write a sonnet, why not give it a try yourself? Write one about your favorite game or pet or food, about your friends or family, or even about how hard it is to write a sonnet.Published in 1591, the sonnet set "Astrophil and Stella" by Sir Philip Sidney established the form of the English sonnet. He talks a lot but doesn’t make much sense.Īlthough I love my dog with all my heart, Then adds that ants are good at basketball. He tells me that he’s twenty-nine feet tall. My dog declares that tigers grow on trees.
He seems to think that two plus two is five. He says that submarines know how to dance. However, since I also like funny poems, I decided to make up a funny – not true – story about him. For example, I like my dog, so I thought I’d write a sonnet about him. It seems that starting was the hardest part.Īnother good thing to write a sonnet about is something you like. Students chart the poems characteristics, including the poetic. I guess that’s what this poem aims to do. In this lesson, students read and analyze sonnets to discover their traditional forms. The first three stanzas all have four lines each. The second and the fourth lines rhyme, you see.Īnd you should rhyme the first line with the third. Which means I can’t rhyme every single word. I wish someone would show me where to start. She told me, “It should be a work of art.”
Since you now know all the rules for writing a sonnet, why not write a sonnet about that? Here’s an example: You can write a sonnet about anything, but it’s easiest to write about something you know. The first thing you need to do to write a sonnet is figure out what you want to write about. But it can also be more rewarding to know that you can write a poem like Shakespeare did. And the final couplet should give the reader a “conclusion” or ending to the poem.īecause of all these rules, sonnets can be more challenging to write than shorter, simpler poetic forms such as haiku, diamantes, or cinquains. Lastly, the first line of a sonnet should state the “ theme.” In other words, it should say what the sonnet is about. The final couplet has an AA rhyme scheme, meaning that those two lines rhyme with one another.This means that the first and third lines of each stanza rhyme with each other, and the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other. Each of the three stanzas has an ABAB rhyme scheme.In addition to the number of lines, and the number of syllables per line, sonnets also have a special rhyme scheme: Each of the fourteen lines is ten syllables long.The fourteen lines are divided into three groups, or “ stanzas,” of four lines each, followed by a final two-line “ couplet.” (A four-line stanza is also known as a “ quatrain.” A couplet is two lines together that rhyme.).In poetry, a “ form” is a set of rules describing how to write that kind of poem.
In this lesson, you will learn how to write an English sonnet because this is the most common type of sonnet. In the English language, there are two main kinds of sonnets: the “English” (or “Shakespearean”) sonnet and the “Spenserian” sonnet, named after the poet Edmund Spenser. Though the sonnet was originally created in Italy, with the earliest sonnets written in Italian, they have been written in English, French, Dutch, German, and many other languages as well. They have been written for hundreds of years with some of the most well-known sonnets written by William Shakespeare.
The sonnet is one of the most common traditional poetic forms.