For Challenge #2 in “A Flair for Form” I have chosen for us to concentrate solely on the Elizabethan, or Shakespearean sonnet:

There are 14 lines:
• Group lines in three quatrains followed by a closing rhymed couplet
• Rhyme schemes alternating in the quatrains abab cdcd efef gg
• Introduces at least one volta (or a jump or shift in direction of the emotions or thought), usually somewhat after the middle of the Sonnet
• Place a shift (a more subtle change than the volta) between the second and third quatrains

a b a b – End words of 1st quatrain in alternating rhyme
c d c d – End words of 2nd quatrain in alternating rhyme
e f e f – End words of 3rd quatrain in alternating rhyme
g g – Heroic couplet

RE: Heroic Couplet – The final couplet usually imposes an unexpected sharp thematic or imagistic “turn”…. (it should add a clever twist to the first 3 quatrains,)…must take a turn from what has been said…or expound on it in a different way; the technical name for the turn is ‘Volta’. It is in the Heroic Couplet that the poet often states a conclusion, sometimes the “meaning” or “purpose” of the poem and often the poem has its greatest power in this concluding couplet.

Please note the Boldface Italics on Heroic Couplet…one main goal I have for us is to learn this attribute of this Form. Of course, while we should always ensure that the overall Form meets the required strictures, I think paying special attention to this nuance over the next month while exploring the Shakespearean sonnet will be well worth our efforts.

Finally, please post your Sonnets two times…once to this very Challenge Thread, also in a separate post. In that way, when the Challenge Poll comes around on September 9th I can readily link to the individual post for voting purposes.

Remember, the winner of the Challenge Poll will receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate and special recognition here at “A Flair for Form”. You can post multiple Sonnets, although only those meeting the spirit of the Shakespearean sonnet referenced above will be considered for the Challenge Poll; also, those must be posted according to the requirements just mentioned…two postings, both in “A Flair for Form” forum; of course, anyone wanting to also share their post in the main forum should do so!

Best of luck to all and hope to see some great Shakespearean sonnets here in Flair…

Zeke

References used in compiling the information above include:

“The Book of Forms” – Lewis Turco
www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/sonnet.htm
www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/
www.mala.bc.ca/~Johnstoi/…onnets.htm

Example:

Sonnet # 5

Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck;
And yet methinks I have astronomy,
But not to tell of good or evil luck,
Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons’ quality;

Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,
Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind,
Or say with princes if it shall go well,
By oft predict that I in heaven find:

But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,
And, constant stars, in them I read such art
As truth and beauty shall together thrive,
If from thyself to store thou wouldst convert;

Or else of thee this I prognosticate:
Thy end is truth’s and beauty’s doom and date.

William Shakespeare

Flowers.