A Sonnet: Majesty

For today’s post, I’d like to share with you one of my favorites of my sonnets. Besides being a traditional style poem because, well, it’s a sonnet, the content of the poem bears relevance to the theme of this blog.

Majesty

Long-accoladed poetry I sought

And wondered at the majesty of rhyme;

For graceful lines with meter finely wrought

Withstand the ruthless drudgery of time.

I read of nature’s beauty, grace, and light,

And through the poet’s timeless eyes I saw.

The words instilled me with a thirst to write,

To match the skill of him I read with awe.

But when I wander through the wood and field,

And see the sunset’s glow and hear the rill,

I pause wide-eyed and to the truth I yield:

Howe’er I dream, my pen has not the skill.

Through poetry is gorgeous and fine,

Unshielded nature echoes the divine.

On sonnets (and on this one in particular)

There are various types of sonnets, although all are composed of 14 lines in iambic meter. The above poem is a Shakespearean sonnet: It consists of three quatrains and a couplet, with the overall rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

Given that the number of lines, the rhythm, and the rhyme scheme are all prescribed, sonnets can feel restricting. I have heard some say that the form feels freeing, but I have always struggled to write sonnets. I rarely write them and completing them feels like an accomplishment.

For this poem, I think the form of a sonnet is fitting, because I speak—in neatly organized lines—of traditional poets that I have read and loved. Furthermore, the sonnet is an easily recognizable poetical form, and it invokes memories of Shakespeare’s poetry, (hopefully) strengthening the idea of majesty and genius that I am trying to convey here.

One final thing that I appreciate about this form is the mandatory concluding couplet. By breaking the rhyme scheme, the couplet ends the poem on a different note than it began and opens the way for a final musing after the three main stanzas have been brought to their conclusion.

Of course, my poem is not an ideal representation of a sonnet, but it is my attempt at replicating an ancient, cherished literary form, and I hope it has brought you some joy. Feel free to comment below to tell me what you thought of the poem or to share your own musings on sonnets!

(Photo credit to Aaron Burden on Unsplash)