So I have sort of learned what a sonnet and a couplet is, but I still don’t fully understand it – so then I am debating with myself, whether or not then have I truly learned it?
A sonnet is a fourteen line poem, basically, written in any rhyming scheme.
A couplet is a two line verse, often ending a sonnet, particularly if it’s written by Shakespeare – this is what I have understood thus far, whether or not I have got it or not remains to be seen!
It’s important I get it right – why?
I am a poet and I should really know what I am doing, shouldn’t I?
Not only this, but I would really like to write plays and longer poetical forms and I need to study past masters of this.
I have one thing going for me in that regard, I have read Shakespeare on and off since I was eleven and Henry had a huge passion for Shakespeare when he started nursery school and up until a year ago when he got bullied for it because it’s not cool enough!
Henry has always had a small sort of guilty pleasure type dream about becoming a Shakespearian actor in particular, but he isn’t very vocal about it to people because of fear of judgement.
But he is becoming more vocal about wanting to become an actor to his friends at school these days, which is easy to talk about because he goes to a performing arts college. But he is telling them his focus is primarily in musicals such as Matilda, of which Henry is trying really hard to prepare himself for an audition to do it for autumn this year.
Surprisingly enough he wants the role of Bruce Bogstrotter.
But I digress.
I’m trying to learn the differences between sonnets, verse, rhymes, poems, prose, stanza, cantatas you name it. I was shocked actually that 101 sonnets by Don Paterson stated that some people who take their poetry seriously use musical notation methods, usually ABBA ABBA or CD CD CD and I being a musical person, always thought that would be a natural thing to do – but people don’t talk about it do they?
I mean, I’ve studied English Literature and creative writing over the years and I have never come across anyone suggesting a poetic form should look rhythmic in a musical sense, they just said it should rhyme.
So there you go – I am learning that.
I like Edmund Spenser’s Fairy Queen and I have a long standing desire to write a novel sized poem someday, which is like a story, but I want it all to rhyme; along with this I would really like to write plays which are prose-like or rhythmic.
It hasn’t been talked about on my blog for a while now – but I have in the past composed music to go with some of my lyrics and poems and I really would like to take this to the next level someday and make a whole play based on my stories, music and lyrics, but I like very artsy stuff.
It’s all very complicated at the moment, to me. Because I don’t really know what things are… is what I write a poem? A prose? A Sonnet? I am trying to figure it out, because I have to market it when I decide to sell it.
It’s very important to know what the heck you are doing and what your work really is!
It’s important to your brand and promotion.
So, being I am a slow reader, it could take weeks of research maybe even months. Because I am doing it alone and without tutoring and I generally do not talk about this sort of stuff in social media, because of nerd attacking trolls.
But I need to grow and develop my skills and knowledge.
Thanks for reading.
tardycreative.com 