A sonnet sans a topic? Nothing here
But sounds; a sibilantic wreck made mad
By textually-transmitted verse. It's had
Its fill of assonance, its lines appear
Enjambed, and early indications veer
Iambic. Subjects, though? The form's a tad
Archaic - one cannot be cavalier,
Trochaic or digressive. To adhere
To Petarch's mandate mandates rhyme, a turn
Within the sestet, and a tale of sorts.
Would Byron's work? With him, could we discern
Distinctions from the octet? Byron courts
A finer form, yet Don Juan returns
To verse pre-volta, winking his retorts.
4 comments:
My sonnet ally urged me to write about anything, big or small, so I tried to write about nothing. The first two or three lines came together in the car this morning, and trended indecent almost immediately. Transitioning in the sestet was hard, and so was the ending. I can't say I am entirely pleased with either of them, but they're good enough for quick work.
Hahaha! You are too good! The very topic got me laughing aloud by the close of my first reading, and coming here immediately to comment, your author's comment got me laughing again.
And I thank you sincerely for this one! I too have been struggling with what on earth to tackle, and now you've given me an idea! Let's see whether I can write a match to this, only not half as intellectual as yours. My variety is perpetually too light, methinks.
And, a Petrarchan to boot!
...with a Miltonian slur into the sestet.
An interesting discussion of topic and the form itself, invoking or appealing to Byron? If only I was more familiar with his work, I might better judge the matter in question. A sibilantic wreck alone? The thought-processes of null managed to carve a sonnet out of the English language and fit it into the Italian mold.
I'd use the Roget's to clear out one of the "mandate" uses...don't you use it? Hahaha, all ways to make the line long enough, a pile of synonyms, that who doesn't wink at?
Mayhap not the greatest, and yet not bad at all, I daresay. I like it. The more I reed it the better it looks. Too cool choice of topic.
The play on words in "sibilantic" prompted thoughts of "syphilitic," and the whole thing felt faintly lewd after that, so I went to Byron by way of his reputation, asking whether (if a story is required) his story might be suitable given the innuendo preceding his introduction in the sonnet. And the last line references the irony of using the turn to go to Byron despite it being no turn at all - winking at Byron courting the finer form (in writing and in reality) as well. Aye, I use online thesauruses (thesuarii?) to find alternatives to words, but I liked that line, and kept it that way intentionally, using it first as noun, then as verb. Portions of it were entertaining to write - the internal rhymes of iambic, archaic, trochaic made me giggle. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and look forward to your stab at the non-topic. :)
Line 7 ends incorrectly, something that slipped my notice 'til a fellow sonneteer pointed it out. Whoops. It's ironic that it happened there.
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