Sonnets are known for their ability to force the poet to use simple language in a lyrical structure. The form's limitations, instead of being seen as a disadvantage, should be seen as an opportunity to refine and deepen thoughts. During the early Renaissance, it was used as an expression of love for another party and by the late Renaissance, it had transformed to encompass religious, philosophical and political ideas. This form of writing allows the poet more opportunities to develop different viewpoints in the poem. It allows the poet to develop a position or mood in the first eight lines and then shift to a different mood or position in the last part of the poem. This is also known as a "volta".
Next up is the structure of a sonnet. Different forms of poetic writings have different structures and this is what makes them unique. Basically, a sonnet consists of 14 lines, an iambic pentameter and a static rhyme scheme. You will definitely be asking what an iambic pantameter is. I will explain those terms now, starting with iambic pentameter. An iambic pentameter is actually very commonly used in the lines of a poem. This term describes the certain rhythm present within the words in a single line. William Shakespeare employed this in both his plays and poem. The rhyming sequence in a typical Shakespearean sonnet is in this format: a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.
There are different forms of sonnets. In this post, we shall be concentrating on English sonnets, also known as Shakespearean sonnets. Not long after the introduction of Italian sonnets, English poets started developing a completely native form of sonnet. English sonnets were introduced by Thomas Wyatt although the first English sonnets were mainly translations from French poet, Pierre de Ronsard and Italian poet, Petrarch. The Earl of Surrey gave it a rhyming meter, and a structural division into quatrains that now characterizes the typical "English" sonnet. Over the years, the works of English poets developed the base of English sonnets which consisted of a volta and a usual rhyming scheme. Let us enjoy a sonnet, courtesy of Shakespeare.
Death In Small Doses
Each day I must face, death in small doses.
Your parting has taken, kindness in life.
I long for the end, when it all closes.
For lost are the days, I call you my wife.
Wish for the peace and want of the feeling -
until my heart stills and frees me from you.
Left forsaken, no comfort, no healing -
shut out my mind and forget what I knew.
And when it shall come, time of my dying -
release of the burden, shall not reveal,
no cheek for my tears, my woes, my crying -
denying my fate, attempts to conceal.
Come hold me my lord, please hear my last plea.
For, death in small doses won't set me free.
Notice the rhyming scheme and how Shakespeare employs a "volta" by changing his viewpoint in the poem.
Due to the birth of a free verse, sonnets are considered as old-fashioned in our modern world and not used anymore, except for a few individuals. The New Formalism movement has also contributed to the contemporary in sonnets. Let’s end this post with another sonnet, this time a modern poem.
Lament: A Modern Sonnet
First glance, I see your beautiful brown eyes.
I fall immediately under your spell.
Slipping into a dream, I hear love's sighs
The dream turns out to be a living Hell.
When you said you loved me, did you mean it?
Your lie is poisionous as blackened sin.
Your beauty cannot hide your soul, the pit.
Release the demon that has lain within.
I've looked into your eyes to find your soul
Wherever it has gone, I do not know.
Your mind controls the 'shell' it plays the role.
Your love is ice, as you know how to show.
Though you have proved the demon, played the role
I find all beauty in your broken soul.
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