Shakespearean Sonnet

Hi ATS

I hope whoever might read this is having a wonderful day (and thank you so much for checking out a title which includes the rather outdated word "sonnet").

I decided to try my hand at a Shakepearean sonnet, share it here, and invite anyone to try to write their own sonnet to share (or post one you've previously written).

It's a great brain exercise, kind of hard to pull off (though also, in a sense, easy due to the natural cadence of the English language).

A Shakespearean sonnet consists of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter, meaning 10 syllables a line, with every second syllable stressed--

For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds

and follows this rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. The last two lines usually contain some kind of twist or final insight.

Here's my first attempt at a sonnet, and I would love to hear yours. (Of course might not happen in the middle of a work day, I understand, but I hope to hear from some/one later!)

To Sit Amidst The Wraiths of Thinkers Past

To sit amidst the wraiths of thinkers past
My mind aswirl of visions grand and high
A sign, though weak, that conscious thought outlasts
Our time on Earth here’s rather short supply.

And though our mortal thoughts may cease to be,
In through the next and hidden stage unknown
At times the clouds reveal a part to see
A beauty everlasting being shown.

The whispered voices hold within them all
An endless stream of conscious that is shared
By every human living since the Fall
Through this a certain link between us paired.

Of every thought and thing of Earth, our home,
Contained within these dear but dusty tomes.


Thank you so much for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day and hope that one or two other ATSers want to give writing a sonnet a try

That was just beautiful Zos!

a reply to: Night Star
Thank you, dear Night! I am so glad you enjoyed reading

Hope you have a great day!

a reply to: zosimov

Fantastic work!!

I struggle with a Haiku...

a reply to: zosimov

Well, I loved that which reading let me see.

a reply to: Jonjonj

Ha ha your reply is the beginning of a sonnet, so cool!

a reply to: olaru12

Thanks for reading, olaru!

All of my previous "poems" have been so unstructured (one thing I enjoy about American laxity lol) but this was such a fun exercise.

Anyway you have your own creative expression you bring, so not to fret

a reply to: zosimov

Loved it.
I have done a few, in the past but I always feel the presence of old Shaky looking scornful .

I think you carried that one off really well

a reply to: zosimov

originally posted by: zosimov
a reply to: Jonjonj

Ha ha your reply is the beginning of a sonnet, so cool!

I enjoyed your sonnet so much it made me try a response in kind.

originally posted by: SprocketUK
a reply to: zosimov

Loved it.
I have done a few, in the past but I always feel the presence of old Shaky looking scornful .

I think you carried that one off really well

Oh lol, I am too well acquainted with old Shaky-- what a jerk that stodgy old guy is!

Thank you so much for reading, and I'm really glad you liked it.

a reply to: Peeple

You are awesome Peeple!

Thanks for the cute puppy pic too, made me smile.

Yes, well done. Pretty good.

For balance, here's the man himself with probably the most famous sonnet.

Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

a reply to: paraphi

Thanks for posting that lovely shining example of how to write a sonnet from the man himself!



Also realized my formatting is off... which is really good to know for any future attempts.

a reply to: zosimov

Shakespeare was one of the first English writers I read and I made at least five class-report-representations on him.
The monologue in Hamlet...

A writers quest

Most wondrous visions are revealed to me
whilst I sit here by my computer screen.
It is not with my eyes that I do see;
but clouded insight which can seem so mean.

Twisting, swirling, running throughout my mind,
I try to encase the image with ink:
eagerly, I taste each word that I find;
Knowing the next can vanish in a blink

See me rise, fall- achieve nothing at all:
a weird dance with which no thing can compare.
The pen keels over- many tears do fall,
a silent muse's grief: too much to bear.

No Master am I; these words are their own:
trusting this scribe to simply lead them home.

that was my first attempt at a sonnet as well, and I thank you dearly for allowing me the opportunity to discover it!

a reply to: LucidWarrior

OMG, that was amazing!

a reply to: LucidWarrior

I really loved reading your sonnet, well done LucidWarrior!!! (btw, wasn't that fun? )

Thanks for sharing!!!

a reply to: Peeple

Peeple, Hamlet's monologue was my first real foray into Shakespeare (helping my mom memorize it, I also learned to recite it- I remember thinking a "bare bodkin" was something funny/giggle worthy )
His grasp of (and influence on) our language was astounding.