Tuesday, September 22, 2015

My Sonnet 1

In my process of creating this sonnet, I read a ton of sonnets but I didn't find one specifically to imitate. I already knew what I wanted my topic to be, which was the mountains because I'm from Oregon and I just love hiking the mountains there.  However, as I took forever to write it I found kind of a greater reason to write about that, so I think that helped with giving me more things to say in order to build up for the ending.  Here's my sonnet:

I sit upon the boulder out of breath
With my feet dangling over rocky ledge
Extending down to meet the floor, with death
At mercy of the wind; No safety hedge
To catch me if I fall.  A butterfly
Catches my gaze and guides my eyes to see
Layers of trees ascend up to the sky,
Numberless, endless, like eternity.
I feel as though I cannot help but rise,
Standing against a mountain fortress there
A presence of angels to witness sighs
Composing songs of laud to fill the air.
        All this to us prove true divinity,
        And yet, somehow, God still finds time for me.


I really like the overall punchline I came up with.  Some challenges that I had with that punchline though, was deciding whether I should do it more like Petrarchan Sonnets where the volta is on line 9 so that I could expound a little more on the punchline or if I should do what I did and make it more Shakespearean where the punchline is just in the couplet so that I could expand more on the majestic greatness of the scene.  It also took me forever to make the iambic pentameter, I felt like I couldn't say a lot in each line and so there are a few different enjambments going on just so a thought could be a little bit longer than the sylables I had allotted to me in each line.  Does it seem like there are too many enjambments?  I'm worried that it might be annoying to read with how many I have in there.



5 comments:

  1. I really like your sonnet! I feel like the fact that you are passionate about your subject matter showed through. I also like your volta, and I think you made a good choice in taking the Shakespearean route. I think it makes it more concise and easier to remember, like we discussed in class. I don't think you have too many enjambments, but I also feel like I use them a lot because it is really difficult to contain much in ten syllable sentences.

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  2. I really like it! Beautiful imagery. And good rhyme schemes. I think you've got a few trochees (stressed-unstressed) instead of iambs (unstress-stressed) but I still think it sounds great! :)

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  3. You did an excellent job of describing the scene! I actually saw the volta earlier on in the poem, in the line "To catch me if I fall. A butterfly". Having the period in the middle of the line drew attention to it and the change in subjects felt a little abrupt to me, although I thought it worked just fine to have that switch earlier on in the sonnet.

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  4. I really enjoyed reading your poem! I think that the image of the line of trees ascending up to the sky is very strong and evocative. You talked about the issue of choosing between English sonnet or Italian and I think you made the right move. The more time you had to build the scene made the punchline at the end stronger.

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  5. I appreciate the level of consideration that went into this. I think that's admirable. Also, this poem is really great. I especially enjoy the last piece. Your couplet. That was so profound. The whole thing is lovely, but particularly the last bit

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