A sonnet is an echo chamber of sounds, a closed form, allowing sound patterns to form consciously, or otherwise, in the reader’s mind. Rhyming is part of that sound-patterning, and rhymes can appear either at the end, the beginning or inside each line. Rhymes at the end of each line have characterised sonnets for centuries; … Continue reading Rhyming Sonnets
Sonnet
Sonnet or Not? – The fourteen-line Rondel
The sonnet form in poetry is characterized through several key features: it has a Turn or Volta, a rhyme scheme, regular line length often using pentameter, stanza breaks, and have fourteen lines. Right? Or only partly correct? Over centuries of use of this form, there have been many variants of the form tried by poets … Continue reading Sonnet or Not? – The fourteen-line Rondel
Lists, lists and more lists
List poems are a listing of various ideas elaborating a central conceit but without any transitional phrases. Sometimes the list loads and overloads descriptions piling up a backdrop until the last line comes as cathartic change. Examples of list poems are numerous across the ages, and include My November Guest by Robert Frost, The Lost … Continue reading Lists, lists and more lists
Giving Feedback on Poetry
“What an amazing poem!” The appreciation of poetry is subjective. Where one reader may say what a great poem it is, another stares blankly. What is longlisted in one competition may be a winner in another. A poem should speak to the heart and the mind, but everyone has had different life experiences that make … Continue reading Giving Feedback on Poetry
Arts and Crafts
“Dear Editor, I am writing to you from the pier at Brighton with the rough wind tugging at the sheets of this letter. Just a moment ago, I hurled a small brass key into the waves. It seals forever the desk drawer in my study holding all my works. Thus, I regret to inform you … Continue reading Arts and Crafts
