Let's Go Greek!
Poetry Contest
Write a traditional sonnet that is either based on Greek mythology, or somehow incorporates Greek mythology.
What is a traditional sonnet?
A traditional sonnet is a poem of 14 lines. It follows a strict rhyme scheme. It is often about love.
A Shakespearean, or English, sonnet consists of 14 lines, each line containing ten syllables and written in iambic pentameter, in which a pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is repeated five times. The rhyme scheme in a Shakespearean sonnet is a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet.
If you're writing the most familiar kind of sonnet, the Shakespearean, the rhyme scheme is this:
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
E
F
G
G
Every A rhymes with every A, every B rhymes with every B, and so forth. This type of sonnet has of three quatrains (so, four consecutive lines of verse that make up a stanza) and one couplet (two consecutive rhyming lines of verse).
The structure is important. But it is not everything. A sonnet is also an argument that builds up a certain way. And how it builds up is related to its metaphors and how it moves from one metaphor to the next. In a Shakespearean sonnet, the argument builds up like this:
First quatrain: An exposition of the main theme and main metaphor.
Second quatrain: Theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.
Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but" (very often leading off the ninth line).
Couplet: Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image.
Shakespearean Sonnet Example:
Sonnet for a Poet Grieving
I grieved for you beneath a waning moon, (rhyme: a)
while silver tears churned wild as storm-swept seas. (b)
I wept where faerie forest shade is strewn (a)
in silken veils of verse swept by eve's breeze. (b)
Your gilded words designed for love's chaste glance, (c)
spun free verse stars 'round vernal twilight air. (d)
But stardust seraphs chose to join your dance (c)
with graceful steps not meant for me to share. (d)
And so I sang your name in darkness cold (e)
and read your much-loved poems to raptured dawn. (f)
A phoenix resurrection of pure gold; (e)
your bard's voice rose from embers that live on. (f)
My emptiness will ever be set free, (g)
in soul-filled words of love you left with me. (g)
- written by TheBritsWife
This is my rendition of the topic sonnet:
The Wave
Elusive like Pacific tides, you are,
A fleeting wave I like to chase in vain;
And when I think you close, you're oceans far,
My love, my dream, my fantasy and pain.
I dwell in your mystique, Ulysses' lair,
I pick your shells on coral laden shore,
Re-living our ill-fated love affair
and remnant feelings that I can't ignore.
Poseidon, splash me with your azure wave,
Like Aphrodite, cover me with foam ~
Your Mermaid will remain your faithful slave,
the bottom of the sea once more my home.
Your sea-green spume appeal entices dream
of faithful heart aglow in lovers' beam.
- written by yeltel
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool which is based on the number of entries. The second and third place winners will each share the remaining prize pool. The prize pool is currently 60.00 member dollars. There are 6 spots still open. If all open spots are used the prize pool will be 90.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Sunday, May 10, 2015.
