#1 (sonnets is the name of the game)

So, sonnets is the name of the game. The name of the game is sonnets.

After discussing sonnets in two of my classes this week, I can finally admit that I have gotten over my fear of them. The first time that I was exposed to sonnets in high school, I think that my teacher prided himself on terrifying us with them. I always thought that they were extremely rigid and didn't understand a lick more about them than the prescribed rules that I could recite by rote. So, when moving past the fourteen lines, distinct rhyme scheme, and stanza structure, I can now actually think about the content of sonnets. I always thought that sonnets could only talk about love in the mushy sort of way, mostly because the sonnets that were presented to me were written that way. Reading contemporary sonnets for the first time, I was blown away by the possibilities that could exist within a mere fourteen lines! I had never thought that the Shakespearean structure could yield three points concluded with the "therefore reasoning" in the final couplet. There is so much power in the couplet! Two little lines can either summarize, expand, or completely discount the lines previous. With the Italian structure, I can use the distinct 8/6 split to establish an idea and then contradict it, list a general principle and then specify, or present an argument and then illustrate it, and these aren't even all of the possibilities! My brain is overflowing with ideas- none of which are mushy or love-related. It is true that sonnets are suited for an intensity of feeling, but this feeling can encompass any of the human emotions. I find this freedom refreshing and I realize that I am actually looking forward to writing a sonnet for class next week.

I'm glad that sonnets is the name of the game.