Write a Shakespearean Sonnet
Poetry Contest
Write a Shakespearean sonnet.
The purpose of this contest is for the poet to write a Shakespearean sonnet according to the following contest rules:
1. Write one (1) sonnet consisting of 14 lines. The sonnet must have three (3) quatrains and one (1) closing couplet.
2. The sonnet must be written in strict iambic pentameter. This metrical form requires 10 syllables per line to be written in an unstressed/stressed form as shown in the example: da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. The poet should use dictionary.com to assist him/her in determining the natural stress and unstressed of syllables in polysyllabic words. In other words, standard English, and not vernacular, is the required language form.
3. The sonnet must follow a specific rhyme scheme as follows: First quatrain: abab; Second quatrain: cdcd; Third quatrain: efef; and closing couplet: gg. Thus, this rhyme pattern requires seven different rhymes.
4. The development of a Shakespearean sonnet requires attention to detail. Your sonnet must be developed in the following format:
......a. First quatrain The main theme and main metaphor are introduced in this quatrain.
......b. Second quatrain: The theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.
......c. Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but" (very often leading off the ninth line).
......d. Couplet: Summarizes the sonnet and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image and feeling, often times one that leaves the reader pondering the sonnet's meaning.
5. The Shakespearean sonnet lends itself well to themes of love and romance, youth and/or growing older, nature, etc. The purpose of this contest is for the poet to write a serious sonnet.
6. The contest will be closely monitored. Non-compliant sonnets will be disqualified prior to the opening of the voting booth.
7. Poets are requested to post their sonnets early, but not later than 10 March, in order to allow for monitoring and sonnet edits, if necessary.
Anyone wanting to learn more about how to write in sonnet form is encouraged to consider taking Brooke Baldwin's Sonnet class, provided here on the FanStory site. It is a superb class!
An example of a Shakespearean Sonnet is copied below to show how the patterns and requirements discussed in the rules are executed.
Sonnets From the Soul: V
My Youthful Years
I look through yesterday's smudged glass and view
my youthful years spent in such disarray.
With chiseled chest and flowing hair askew,
I cast fate to the winds and sailed away
to ancient lands where poets lived and thrived.
I drank dark wine that Bacchus served and danced
with virgins through the night. I felt alive!
Life's river flowed and nothing seemed askance.
But morning's sun soon pierced the long dark night
as sage philosophers read words of truth
that stirred my soul and helped me see the light
and way to grow beyond my feckless youth.
I fill our glasses with life's vibrant wine
and reaffirm our treasured love sublime.
12 November 2012
© (mountainwriter49)
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool of 180.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
Full Contest Listing
The purpose of this contest is for the poet to write a Shakespearean sonnet according to the following contest rules:
1. Write one (1) sonnet consisting of 14 lines. The sonnet must have three (3) quatrains and one (1) closing couplet.
2. The sonnet must be written in strict iambic pentameter. This metrical form requires 10 syllables per line to be written in an unstressed/stressed form as shown in the example: da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. The poet should use dictionary.com to assist him/her in determining the natural stress and unstressed of syllables in polysyllabic words. In other words, standard English, and not vernacular, is the required language form.
3. The sonnet must follow a specific rhyme scheme as follows: First quatrain: abab; Second quatrain: cdcd; Third quatrain: efef; and closing couplet: gg. Thus, this rhyme pattern requires seven different rhymes.
4. The development of a Shakespearean sonnet requires attention to detail. Your sonnet must be developed in the following format:
......a. First quatrain The main theme and main metaphor are introduced in this quatrain.
......b. Second quatrain: The theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.
......c. Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but" (very often leading off the ninth line).
......d. Couplet: Summarizes the sonnet and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image and feeling, often times one that leaves the reader pondering the sonnet's meaning.
5. The Shakespearean sonnet lends itself well to themes of love and romance, youth and/or growing older, nature, etc. The purpose of this contest is for the poet to write a serious sonnet.
6. The contest will be closely monitored. Non-compliant sonnets will be disqualified prior to the opening of the voting booth.
7. Poets are requested to post their sonnets early, but not later than 10 March, in order to allow for monitoring and sonnet edits, if necessary.
Anyone wanting to learn more about how to write in sonnet form is encouraged to consider taking Brooke Baldwin's Sonnet class, provided here on the FanStory site. It is a superb class!
An example of a Shakespearean Sonnet is copied below to show how the patterns and requirements discussed in the rules are executed.
Sonnets From the Soul: V
My Youthful Years
I look through yesterday's smudged glass and view
my youthful years spent in such disarray.
With chiseled chest and flowing hair askew,
I cast fate to the winds and sailed away
to ancient lands where poets lived and thrived.
I drank dark wine that Bacchus served and danced
with virgins through the night. I felt alive!
Life's river flowed and nothing seemed askance.
But morning's sun soon pierced the long dark night
as sage philosophers read words of truth
that stirred my soul and helped me see the light
and way to grow beyond my feckless youth.
I fill our glasses with life's vibrant wine
and reaffirm our treasured love sublime.
12 November 2012
© (mountainwriter49)
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool of 180.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
