Earlier this week I presented the haiku. Today I present the Elizabethan sonnet. The first sonnets appeared in Italy, and is designed for the rhrythmic syncopation of the Italian language, where every other syllable is stressed. Adapted into English, that rhythm is somewhat awkwardly transposed into the iambic pentameter, a line of poetry that consists of 10 syllables, with every even syllable stressed. There are a variety of sonnets, each with its own rhyme scheme. But every sonnet is written in iambic pentameter.
So to write an Elizabethan sonnet you must follow these guidelines: Continue reading Water Poetry 2: The Elizabethan Sonnet
The Quilting Sword 