MAY 20

On this date in 1609, 410 years ago, Shakespeare's sonnets were first published.   I mention this because I love them. 

The sonnet is a poetic verse form consisting of 14 lines.  It is not free form; a rhyming scheme had to be followed and the length of lines limited.  It was an Italian invention of the 13th century. 

Besides Shakespeare, John Donne, Edmond Spenser and Sir Thomas Wyatt to name a few, wrote in this form in the same period.  American poet, Ted Berrigan, is the most notable contemporary using this poetic form. 

I once had four or five of Shakespeare's sonnets committed to memory.  It helped me impress the young lady I was dating who became my wife - so it was a good exercise.  As age destroys my brain cells, I'm down to one or two. 

I urge you to give the form a second look (surely, you overlooked them in school).  It may not be the best of poetry but it is neat and tidy, full of simile, metaphor, hyperbole and, once in a while, onomatopoeia. 
😘 puip muah!