Download How to Write a Sonnet This page talks about how to write a sonnet

How to Write a Sonnet
This page talks about how to write a sonnet and offers some poem starters for writing your own. This is
just one of many pages on this website about poetry types and techniques. At the bottom of this page,
you'll find links to other CWN poetry resources.
What's a sonnet?
Sonnets are a kind of rhymed poem written in iambic pentameter. That's a rhythm that sounds like this:
bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.
An iamb is a rhythmic unit that includes an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. It has the
rhythm bah-BAH, as in the words "about," or "predict," or "parade." Iambic pentameter is a line of poetry
consisting of five iambs. Here are two sentences in iambic pentameter:

The book explained another way to write.

I think I'll take a walk around the block.
Hear it? bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH bah-BAH.
There are different kinds of sonnets, but I'm going to talk about the Shakespearian sonnet, also called the
English sonnet. The Shakespearian sonnet has fourteen lines in iambic pentameter that are divided into
three groups of four lines and one group of two lines. The rhyme scheme looks like this: abab cdcd efef
gg. I'll explain.
When a rhyme scheme is written in this way, each of the letters stands for one line. An "a" line rhymes
with another "a" line, a "d" line rhymes with another "d" line, etc. So in a Shakespearian sonnet, the first
line (a) rhymes with the third line (also called "a"). The second line (b) rhymes with the fourth line (also
called "b"). The final two lines of the poem (gg) rhyme with each other.
Here's an example of a sonnet by Shakespeare written in this form. I'll mark each end rhyme with a letter:
Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck, (a)
And yet methinks I have astronomy, (b)
But not to tell of good, or evil luck, (a)
Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality,(b)
Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell; (c)
Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind, (d)
Or say with princes if it shall go well (c)
By oft predict that I in heaven find. (d)
But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive, (e)
And constant stars in them I read such art (f)
As truth and beauty shall together thrive (e)
If from thy self, to store thou wouldst convert: (f)
Or else of thee this I prognosticate, (g)
Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date. (g)
You may notice that some of the rhymes are not exact. For example, "art" and "convert" have the same
final sound, but the vowel sounds ("a" in art and "e" in convert) are different. This is an example of what is
called off-rhyme, or slant-rhyme.
How to write a sonnet - poetry prompts
Now that you know how to write a sonnet, ready to try one of your own? Below are some six sentences in
iambic pentameter. If you want, use them as starting points for your own poetry. For example, you could
use one as the first line of a sonnet. You might even find a way to combine several of them in the same
poem.
1. The night was icy but I didn't mind.
2. Your fingerprints were all around the room.
3. My father never tells me what he thinks.
4. There's something hiding underneath my bed.
5. You changed your name but couldn't change your face.
6. I couldn't think of anything to say.
More Ideas - Write a sonnet about:
1. Night-time
23. A voodoo doll
2. A particular color
24. Reflections on a window
3. Being underwater
25. A newspaper headline
4. A person whose life you're curious about
26. Your greatest fear
5. Your mother's perfume
27. Your grandmother's hands
6. Falling asleep or waking up
28. A particular toy you had as a child
7. Growing older
29. Being invisible
8. The feeling of getting lost in a book
30. A time you felt homesick
9. How to know if you're in love
31. Having an affair, or discovering your partner
is having one
10. A bad dream
11. A ghost
12. Your city, town, or neighborhood
13. An important life choice you've made
14. Spring, summer, fall, or winter
15. Something most people see as ugly but
which you see as beautiful
16. Jealousy
17. Becoming a parent
18. An event that changed you
19. A place you visited -- how you imagined it
beforehand, and what it was actually like
32. Birthdays
33. A favorite food and a specific memory of
eating it
34. An imaginary city
35. Driving with the radio on
36. Life in an aquarium
37. Dancing
38. Walking with your eyes closed
39. What a computer might daydream about
40. Time travel
41. Brothers or sisters
20. The ocean
42. Your job, or a job you've had
21. Forgetting
43. Weddings
22. The speed of light
44. Leaving home
45. Camping
49. Intimacy and privacy
46. A zoo
50. A time you were tempted to do something
you feel is wrong
47. A historical event from the perspective of
someone who saw it firsthand (You will
have to do some research for this).
48. Holding your breath
51. Physical attraction to someone
52. A superstition you have
53. Someone you admire