Write a sonnet—14 lines of iambic pentameter—following one of the following rhyme schemes

Form:
Write a sonnet—14 lines of iambic pentameter—following one of the following rhyme schemes:
– Petrarchan: abba abba cdc dcd
– Shakespearean: abab cdcd efef gg
If you find the rules of the sonnet too challenging, or just unappealing, you are allowed to loosen
the formal restrictions somewhat—i.e., not follow the meter or rhyme scheme exactly. However,
your poem should show a clear engagement with the general shape and nature of the sonnet.
Theme:
Choose one of the following themes:
– an old photograph
– revisiting the scene of a dramatic or life-changing experience
– an encounter with an animal, plant, or otherwise non-human entity
– you or someone else doing something by hand
Challenge:
Vary the length of your sentences, such that one of them takes up less than a full line and one of
them takes up two or more lines.
Suggestions:
– You may find it helpful, as you start thinking about your poem, to begin by writing a
prose draft of the ideas, feelings, or images you wish to include in it. This is not required,
but many writers find that this method helps them (1) generate new ideas and (2) perceive
connections between different elements of the poem. You could even draft in three stages,
starting with a kind of automatic writing/brainstorming, then refining it into a more
streamlined prose draft, and then putting it into rhymed, metrical lines.
– Think about how the octave (the first eight lines) of the sonnet relates to the sestet (the
last seven lines). As we’ve discussed, sonnets tend to have a turn, or volta—either between
the octave and sestet, or else (in Shakespearean sonnets) at the final two lines, or couplet.
Your poem doesn’t have to make a clear and logical argument, but there should be a turn
at some point in the poem, like the following:
o a shift from general ideas to specific examples
o a shift from past (history, memory) to present, or from present to future
o a shift from one perspective on the subject to another
o a shift from one addressee to another
– As in all creative writing, remember to show, don’t tell and to avoid clichés!

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