Formal Fluency Form Fun Challenge

Details

The sonnet is one of the English language's most iconic poetic forms. There are three different types of sonnets: Italian (Petrarchan), English (Shakespearean), and Spenserian (a combination of Italian and English).

The Italian sonnet contains an octave (8 lines) followed by a sestet (6 lines). The octave is a fixed ABBAABBA rhyme scheme. The sestet can be either CDECDE, CDCCDC, or CDEDCE. As Charles Gayley explains, "The octave bears the burden; a doubt, a problem, a reflection, a query, an historical statement, a cry of indignation or desire, a Vision of the ideaL The sestet eases the load, resolves the problem or doubt, answers the query, solaces the yearning, realizes the vision."

The English sonnet is made up of three quatrains (4 lines, each with its own rhyme scheme) and a rhymed couplet (2 lines). As opposed to the Italian sonnet, the English sonnet follows the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

The Spenserian sonnet, as coined by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene, combines the Italian and English sonnets, using three quatrains and a couplet, with linking rhymes between the contrains: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE.

Why am I telling you all this? Because your task for this challenge is to create a new form of sonnet. Your sonnet can be about anything, but it must: still be 14 lines long (no more, no less) and still adhere to a set rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme is of your own choosing, but it must be clear and follow some sort of pattern.

For more information on the sonnet as a form, try here.

Get creative with your poetic forms!

Winning entries

Winners have been announced! Log in to see them.

Prizes

Rules

• Entries must be received before midnight of Saturday, December 29th (UTC time) and the winner will be announced within one week of that date.

• Entries must be a new type of sonnet you create. They must still contain 14 lines and adhere to a set rhyme scheme, but the rhyme scheme is of your own choosing. There is no set theme or topic.

• Part of our mini-contests is sharing what you've learned: although it's not required, we'd appreciate it if you come weigh in on the group discussion thread here.

• Only one entry per member, please. Multiple entries will all be disqualified.

• Work must have Public visibility on Scribophile until winners are announced.

• Winners must have a valid Paypal account, or we won't be able to send the prize money!

Submission guidelines

• To enter the contest, post your work on Scribophile and check the box that says "Enter this work into the Formal Fluency Form Fun Challenge." Your work will automatically be considered. The checkbox will be visible until the contest deadline, which is in UTC time.

• Entry is free, but you'll need karma points to post your work. You can earn karma points by writing critiques of work by other members.

• If you have placed in a contest in the past with a particular piece, you may not resubmit that piece in other contests.