Task 31: Another Sonnet

Whilst some of you are much further ahead than others, ALL of you could definitely benefit from more practice with your sonnet writing.

I think this is incredibly significant, on all sorts of front:

1. Master the sonnet, and I reckon you can master ANYTHING. After all, if you are 100% capable of writing IAMBS, then trochees, spondees, anapests, dactyls etc should all come easily.
2. There is NO point moving on to anything else until you HAVE all mastered this completely - otherwise the whole exercise is rendered pointless.
3. I remain convinced that if you ALL read, use and adhere to ALL the many, detailed comments you have been given, then there is absolutely NO reason Task 31 cannot allow you ALL to conquer this feat once and for all.

Now try to think what sort of 'sonneteer' you consider yourself to be: beginner, intermediate or advanced?

BEGINNER

To those of you still struggling a lot with iambic meter, please make sure that, before attempting Task 31, you:

• Follow every one of the suggestions made to you by your moderators recently;
• Go back over the earliest tasks on wordvoodoo (Tasks 2, 3, 4 etc.)
• Look at other people's attempts at Tasks 29 and 30 (and the comments thereon).

With Task 31, make sure that, as a minimum, you:

• write 14 lines;
• make sure each line has 10 syllables only and only the EVEN syllables which are stressed;
• make sure the rhyme scheme is followed (ababcdcdefefgg);
• avoid any and all spelling errors or careless typos.
  

Do NOT submit your sonnet until you have checked it with AT LEAST one other person (preferably workshop member); and make sure you read it aloud to them, deliberately exaggerating every EVEN syllable to see how it sounds. Get them to check the rhyming and count the syllables too?

INTERMEDIATE

And for those of you more advanced with sonnet writing, AS WELL AS everything I have said to the beginners, please could you also attempt to:

• exploit fully the potential of the octave/sestet split;
• make greater use of caesura and enjambement, making sure that the final syllable of each line is sufficiently significant to end the line;
• avoid archaism (old fashioned words/phrases);
• make sure the rhyme serves you (rather than the other way around).

ADVANCED

And, finally, for those of you ready to step things up a gear or two, in ADDITION to everything above, please try to:

• experiment with rhyme, in particular internal rhyme and soft end-rhymes;
• employ deliberate and effective alliteration;
• effect original and powerful imagery to enhance your content;
• play around with syntax, using sentence fragments and also questions/exclamations.

* * * *

I am available many lunchtimes and breaktimes this week, so if you are still totally stuck, or just want to run something by me, don't hesitate to ask.

The absolute minimum I require from you ALL this week (in addition to meeting the deadline AND the criteria outline above) is that I genuinely believe your sonnet is the VERY BEST you are capable of producing, and clearly the result of SIGNIFICANT time and effort. Should I suspect anything less than this, you can expect me to be having a serious chat with you about your future in the workshop...

Now for Task 31. Adhering to the relevant criteria above, you should write a sonnet with a title of your choice entirely, provided your title starts with the letter 'F' (i.e. it could be on anything from FOOTBALL to FEAR to FRIED CHICKEN).

The deadline is midnight on Saturday 8th November.

Good Luck!

As always, here is MY attempt:

Friendship

Inchoate yet invincible, a bond
Beyond and past the purview of my prose;
I have no words, they’ve all been said, no wand
To wave, no spell to keep it safe; it grows
Despite my pestilential clutch; too much
For me to tend, my friend, it perseveres
By virtue of your anodynic touch,
Immune to all that festers in my fears.
While reciprocity eludes me yet,
I will requite the comfort you bestow;
Find something to repay this ample debt.
How can I pay you back? I do not know –
I cannot comprehend – but I intend
To merit and deserve to be your friend.