It's always there in everything I do
It's very true so I'll repeat it twice
Of all the numbers, my life's ruled by two
I have had two good, supportive partners
And two great children who drive me insane
Two small grandsons and two teen granddaughters
My apologies if I sound inane
But I swear by all that's holy it's true
My life is circumscribed by that number
Everywhere I look is the number two
It even follows me while I slumber
Goddess please help me, I very much rue
The day I was found by the number two
Rules ▼
Rules: It must consist of 14 lines.
It must be written in iambic pentameter (duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH).
It must be written in one of various standard rhyme schemes. If you're writing the most familiar kind of sonnet, the Shakespearean, the rhyme scheme is this:
abab, cdcd, efef, gg
Every A rhymes with every A, every B rhymes with every B, and so forth. This type of sonnet has of three quatrains (so, four consecutive lines of verse that make up a stanza) and one couplet (two consecutive rhyming lines of verse). The structure is important. But it is not everything. A sonnet is also an argument that builds up a certain way. And how it builds up is related to its metaphors and how it moves from one metaphor to the next.
In a Shakespearean sonnet, the argument builds up like this:
First quatrain: An exposition of the main theme and main metaphor.
Second quatrain: Theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.
Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but" (very often leading off the ninth line).
Couplet: Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image
It must be written in iambic pentameter (duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH).
It must be written in one of various standard rhyme schemes. If you're writing the most familiar kind of sonnet, the Shakespearean, the rhyme scheme is this:
abab, cdcd, efef, gg
Every A rhymes with every A, every B rhymes with every B, and so forth. This type of sonnet has of three quatrains (so, four consecutive lines of verse that make up a stanza) and one couplet (two consecutive rhyming lines of verse). The structure is important. But it is not everything. A sonnet is also an argument that builds up a certain way. And how it builds up is related to its metaphors and how it moves from one metaphor to the next.
In a Shakespearean sonnet, the argument builds up like this:
First quatrain: An exposition of the main theme and main metaphor.
Second quatrain: Theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.
Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but" (very often leading off the ninth line).
Couplet: Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image
