How to Write a Sonnet

The sonnet is perhaps the best known form of poetry in the west. From Shakespeare to the modern age, sonnets have been written about every subject imaginable. So if you're an aspiring poet, no doubt you'll want to be able to write one yourself.

Let's start by defining the sonnet. A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme. (Iambic pentameter means each line has 10 syllables, with syllables 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 stressed: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") While any 14 line poem of iambic pentameter that rhymes in any way is technically a sonnet, there are a couple of conventions for the rhyme scheme. We'll get to those in a moment.

Before you put pen to paper, familiarize yourself with other sonnets. The most famous are Shakespeare's sonnets, but other great sonneteers include Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sidney, and William Wordsworth. An expansive collection of sonnets is available at: http://www.sonnets.org/.

Ok, if you think you're familiar enough with the format, it's time to start writing. While only experience and practice can make you a master poet, here's a step-by-step starter's guide.

Pick your subject

First, decide what you want your sonnet to be about. Sonnets have been written about any subject you can name, so don't be discouraged if you think your subject is too pedestrian. Go ahead, write a sonnet about the Super Bowl.

Determine your rhyme scheme

While you can have any rhyme scheme you like, there are two conventions: the Elizabethan/Shakespearian sonnet and the Italian/Petrarchan sonnet. The former consists of three quatrains and a couplet (abab cdcd efef gg; every a rhymes with a, b with b, etc). The latter is slightly more difficult, having only five rhymes for its 14 lines (abbabba cdecde).

The reason it's important to choose your rhyme scheme at this point is that your rhyme scheme will determine the dynamic of your poem. The Elizabethan sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet, and each segment has a different idea. The three quatrains should represent three stages of a developing thought or idea, and the couplet the conclusion of the idea. The Italian sonnet has a single thought encompassing the first eight lines, and the opposite idea in the last six. Elizabethan sonnets are about complex streams of thought and ideas, while Italian sonnets are more about dualities.

Start writing

All right, you've had all the background information. Now it's time to start the hard but important part: actually writing your sonnet. It's best to start by writing one line at a time, and have a rhyming dictionary by your side. Iambic pentameter is easier to figure out than you might think, if you take it slowly. In fact, if you pay attention to your speech during the day, you'll be surprised how many times you speak a line of perfect iambic pentameter. "I just can't figure out this income tax" is an example.

Feel free to break the meter slightly. Changes to the meter of a poem are called "variations," and are standard even in professional poetry. One common variation is the "feminine ending," in which a line has eleven syllables instead of ten, the last one unstressed. Other variations include having an unstressed syllable where a stressed one would be, or vice versa.

Further complications

As you become a more experienced poet, you'll be able to incorporate new techniques into your poetry. One technique that's used in the best sonnets is enjambment. A sonnet that's enjambed is one in which the lines have no punctuation or end of thought at the end of a line, but continue uninterrupted into the next line. An example is the third quatrain of Shakespeare's 29th sonnet:

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee,--and then my state
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate.

Good luck and have fun!