Sonnets and Cop Outs

Wikipedia defined a sonnet as a short poem that in Italian means "little song". An English, or Shakespeare sonnet, is usually in iambic pentameter meaning that it follows a pattern of an unemphasized syllable followed by an emphasized syllable and is repeated five times. The rhyme scheme usually goes a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g. Them poem itself is structured like a mini-story where the first quatrain is an introduction, the second quatrain establishes a theme or metaphor, the third quatrain presents a twist or conflict, and the last couplet is the conclusion.

Mr. Sexson assigned the class to write a sonnet by the end of our poetry section. This sonnet is then supposed to be sent to our significant other via the post office. Our professor gave us the option of sending it to our pet, but I see it as a cop out. For those of you who were awake in Monday's class, specifically the first 30 minutes, Mr. Sexson abrasively told us all that we were not living our lives to their full potential and that we were 'asleep'. I'm going to look past his horrendous prejudice towards our generation's lifestyle and take his side for a second. (Mr. Sexson, just because we don't read as much as you do, does not mean our lives have less meaning or less interest. We simply enhance our culture through ways of media that you are not familiar with.)

I don't believe that sending a romantic sonnet to one's significant other (A PERSON) or perhaps an object of one's affection (A "CRUSH") would have any negative consequences. In almost all situations the person will be flattered and probably even more interested in YOU as a person after reading a beautiful sonnet. You can even choose to write the sonnet anonymously, typed, and only use geralizations to conceal your identity.

Just think of it as an opportunity for us to 'wake up and live a little' our otherwise boring world that we all seem to be in.