Why the Sonnet?
Sonnet writing is a therapeutic practice. It teaches you to let go of things that might not work, but also how to hang on to things you may want to keep. Turning thoughts and emotions into movable pieces of a larger object cultivates a distance which is thought provoking, liberating and often worthy of a smile. The rhyme schemes and metrics of sonnets rearrange thoughts and emotions into conversation with each other in a way so the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.
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The best way to learn is by doing. Get in touch with your inner sonneteer!
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Masculine and Feminine Rhymes
masculine ends in a stress ( / ), feminine in
a non-stress ( _ )
Anapest
A foot with three
syllables:
non-stressed ( _ )
non-stressed ( _ )
stressed ( / )
Amphibrach
A foot with three
syllables:
non-stress ( _ )
stress ( / )
non-stress ( _ )
Dactyl
A foot with three syllables:
stressed ( / )
non-stressed ( _ )
non-stressed ( _ )
Amphimacer
A foot with three syllables:
stressed ( /)
non-stressed ( _ )
stressed ( /)
Iamb
A foot with two syllables:
non-stressed ( _ )
stressed ( / )
The basic foot for sonnets
and
heroic verse
Iambic Pentameter
penta = five
meter = measures
Iambic Pentameter is five
iambs in a row.
They are the building blocks
of sonnets (in English)
Trochee
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A foot with two syllables:
stressed ( / )
non-stressed ( _ )
The opposite of the iamb