Writing A Sonnet

Writing poems in freestyle can be a lot easier, but the sonnet is a more formal and will give our poem a more classical theme. It may seem difficult to write but it isn’t so. With just following some simple steps, we can easily write a sonnet poem of our own. This is one kind of a disciplined writing where in we are to follow an exact number of line.

Here are the steps on how to write a sonnet:

• First of all, we have to select the subject that we like to write a poem about. Most of the written sonnets are subjected to love, philosophy and nature. Today, there are so many topics that can be a subject for writing a sonnet. Modern sonnets can be about any topics.
• The second thing we have to do is divide the theme of our sonnet into two sections. The first section will be the part where we present the situation of the subject to the readers. The second part would be the presentation of the climax or the conclusion.
• Third step is to compose the sections or the quatrains. The whole sonnet has to have three quatrains which are three stanzas which contains four lines each.
• This fourth part can be the tricky one. We have to write the quatrains with a rhyme scheme that is a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, and e-f-e-f. This rhyme scheme must be strictly followed. If not, then it would be not a sonnet anymore. Most of the written sonnets employ the meter of iambic pentameters just like the works of Shakespeare. “Sonnet 30” is a good example of this. The ‘iamb’ is a type of a metrical ‘foot’ we use in writing a poem. This is composed of two syllables that have the accent on the second syllable. For example: ‘pa-per’ or ‘key-chain’.

The pentameter on the other hand means that there should be five metrical feet per line.  The Iambic pentameter then means that each of the line from the poem consists five iambic feet which has 10 syllables.

The Italian sonnet use different rhyme scheme. It’s scheme should be a-b-b-a-a-b-b-a rhyme. This is for the first section. The second section then should have c-d-e-c-d-e.

Though that is the main rule, modern sonnets nowadays do not rhyme at all. They just present 14 lines with 10 syllables each.

• After that, we compose the last section as a couplet which is the two rhyming lines of poetry. This time we use the g-g rhyme scheme.

That is how we write our own sonnet. Many modern sonnets today have their own styles of writing the poem. For people who want to stick with the classic and the traditional way of writing a sonnet, then the above steps must be followed.