by Michael Seese
Hmmm. I'll have to think about how to finish that rhyme. But it should be no problem, now that I am recognized sonnet writer.
I've always enjoyed writing a variety of forms. Novels. Short stories. Flash fiction. Non-fiction. Poetry.
Simple poems are easy to write. But in case you've forgotten your high school English lessons, sonnets are complex.
- They have to be in iambic pentameter.
- They utilize a specific rhyme scheme, which varies slightly based on the "flavor." For example, the Petrarchan follows the pattern abab abab cde cde; many Shakespearean use abab cdcd efef gg
Several times now I have submitted a sonnet or three to the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, which is sponsored by the folks who bring us The Great River Shakespeare Festival. (My wife and I will definitely have to drag the kids to that some time.)
To this point, nada.
Well, I am proud to be able to finally say I am among the champions. My entry, "The Honeymoon" was named one of the winners! To bring myself down to earth a bit, it was a Laureates' Choice, which means, not the big Kahuna. Still...
OK, enough gushing about myself. Time to come up with a word that rhymes with "sonnet."
Showing posts with label sonnet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sonnet. Show all posts
Friday, August 5, 2016
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
I Think That I Shall Never See
By Michael Seese
OK, so that one has been used.
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I've been writing a lot of micropoetry lately. (Of course even if you don't follow me, I have been writing it.) Since it's Twitter, naturally the poems must have fewer than 140 characters.
I've been doing so much that I began to wonder whether I still could write longer poems.
Well, I'm taking the opportunity to stretch my poetic muscles once again. A few weeks ago, I learned about the Great River Shakespeare Festival Sonnet Contest.
If you don't remember your high school English lessons (don't worry, I had to look it up) a sonnet must be 14 lines, with a specific rhyming scheme.
Wikipedia does a nice job of explaining the details. But three of the more popular varieties are:
Italian (Petrarchan): a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, c-d-e-c-d-e or
a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, c-d-c-c-d-c
English (Shakespearean): a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g
Spenserian sonnet: a-b-a-b, b-c-b-c, c-d-c-d, e-e
The contest is $5 for three sonnets. So you bet your booty I'm going to write three. I've already got one done. I'd love to share it here. But the contest is blind-judged, so I don't want to mess anything up.
The deadline is July 1, with winners announced August 2.
Cross your fingers, my friends.
OK, so that one has been used.
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I've been writing a lot of micropoetry lately. (Of course even if you don't follow me, I have been writing it.) Since it's Twitter, naturally the poems must have fewer than 140 characters.
I've been doing so much that I began to wonder whether I still could write longer poems.
Well, I'm taking the opportunity to stretch my poetic muscles once again. A few weeks ago, I learned about the Great River Shakespeare Festival Sonnet Contest.
If you don't remember your high school English lessons (don't worry, I had to look it up) a sonnet must be 14 lines, with a specific rhyming scheme.
Wikipedia does a nice job of explaining the details. But three of the more popular varieties are:
Italian (Petrarchan): a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, c-d-e-c-d-e or
a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, c-d-c-c-d-c
English (Shakespearean): a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g
Spenserian sonnet: a-b-a-b, b-c-b-c, c-d-c-d, e-e
The contest is $5 for three sonnets. So you bet your booty I'm going to write three. I've already got one done. I'd love to share it here. But the contest is blind-judged, so I don't want to mess anything up.
The deadline is July 1, with winners announced August 2.
Cross your fingers, my friends.
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