Thursday 19 April 2012

Sonnets for Saints and Scribes

To celebrate both St George's Day and the birth and death of William Shakespeare, Julia - in her wisdom - has decided to make them both turn in their graves by setting a sonnet as this week's 100 Word Challenge!

There are 3 rules to sonnet writing
1  It must be 14 lines
2  It should be 10 syllables per line
3  It should rhyme a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g

Julia has made rules 2 and 3 optional.
She has also allowed us to overrun the 100 words - and I have to say, that's lucky!

For those who live beyond Shakespeare's 'sceptred isle', St George is probably less well known than good old Will. Suffice it to say he slayed the dragon, no doubt wresting a maiden from its fiery jaws at the eleventh hour in the process.

Alas, I must leave it to everyone else to tell both heroes' tales.
Here is my entry:



Would I could pen some literary rhyme
That heralded the works of saint and scribe,
To make you sigh – despite yourself – ‘Sublime!’
Not run amok to flee my diatribe.
Instead, ‘You are not Will!’ I hear you cry,
‘For pity’s sake, leave verse to better men,
‘Ere George abandon all damsels to fry,
Lest tarrying invoke your words again!
The bard will feel his grave untimely chill
With parodies of sonnets best forgot,
For as your lines are hollow, brash and shrill,
‘Twere better if this page were one vast blot!
When you can write of courage, beauty, love
Then let your verse arise to those above.’


Perhaps Julia should have had a 4th rule.
Something about content...!

17 comments:

  1. This is great :-)

    Made me chuckle though, very entertaining.

    Andrea x

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  2. Thanks, Andrea! Glad it made you smile!

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  3. Lots of fun! And I am very impressed. Though initially confuse as I read arise in the last line as arse.

    I have fallen by the wayside again with the 100 wcgu.:(

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  4. Oh this is brilliant! What a clever girl you are! I can imagine Will turning in his grave! Thank you so much for taking up this particular challenge!

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    1. Ah thanks, Julia! Nice to see you here, and well done for thinking up a very good challenge.

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  5. Well written..it has the rel air of a piece written in a bygone age. Impressive :-)

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  6. Of course, that should have said real.

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  7. Lorely, this is brilliant. It's funny how so many of us have the same 'content' - ie how hard it is to write a sonnet. I think Will would appluad your efforts though.

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    1. Not sure about that, but thanks for the thought.

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  8. The meter on this is very good, and your sonnet reflects the emotions most of us felt at this week's task, I suspect. Well done!

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  9. Thanks, Sandra. I think you're right - the word 'sonnet' is pretty well synonymous with 'Shakespeare' isn't it! No pressure, then...

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  10. Mmm, that was fun - definitely not hollow, brash, or shrill!

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  11. Oh you clever clever sod!! That's such a good entry. I think I might just hate you...... ;-)

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