How to Write Sonnets in Poetry

As I pondered my life, I realized some people don't know how to string together the seams of poetry, at least when it comes to Sonnets or Couplets. I see a lot of people that are used to writing Free Verse, but when it comes to a time when they have to rhyme, they can't seem to get it together.

This happened to my class last year when I had to individually help over eighteen students after finishing my own poem, and I still stumble upon many people that need my help. So, I thought I'd lend a hand.

Sonnets

Each line has ten syllabes. The basic rhyme scheme of stanzas for a sonnet is:

A
B
A
B
Then skip a line, to a new stanza.
C
D
C
D
Next stanza.
E
F
E
F
Another stanza.
G
G

First Stanza

First off, those who are new to this are probably thinking: Whoa! What's with all the crazy letters?

Those letters are the different rhymes. Each rhyme has to have a different suffix, so let's break it apart and take the first stanza alone to start off with.

Cat [-at being the suffix we want all A's to rhyme with]
Dog
Rat
Bog [-og being the suffix we want all B's to rhyme with]

Now you just have to put sentences in front of it, and be sure you get ten syllables to each line!

I spotted a little black tabby cat
And a tall droopy eared brown blood hound dog
Chase a beady eyed, slinky, tiny rat
Into a green algae infested bog

Second Stanza

Now we want to start a new rhyme that rhymes with neither A nor B.

Tree [-ee being the suffix we want all C's to rhyme with]
House
Flee
Mouse [-ouse being the suffix we want all D's to rhyme with]

But the cat got bored and climbed a tree,
I watched from the window in the house.
The dog lost interest and went to flee,
As the rat turned out to be a mouse

See how easy it is once you get going? It may take some foot tapping or finger counting to get all of the syllables down, but look at how far we've come.

Third Stanza

After this stanza, we will only have two lines left. So, this time we want fresh rhymes that still don’t rhyme with the others.

Sparrow [-arrow being the suffix we want all E's to rhyme with]
Odd
Camaro
Broad [Now this is a change, different spellings but the 'odd' sort of sound we want all F's to rhyme with]

The rat forgotten, chased, was a sparrow
Perplexed, I thought the animals were odd
The dog rested along the Camaro
When all of the sudden the rat was broad

Fourth Stanza

The last stanza is only two lines! This is where you want to sum it all up, and give your audience a good ending with a fresh rhyme, and since each line is the same letter suffix, you can make them two words that rhyme with one another.

Lag [-ag, being the suffix both G's can rhyme with]
Tag

He scared both of them, to lose their lag
Making me laugh as they played some tag

Final Copy

I spotted a little black tabby cat
And a tall, droopy eared brown bloodhound dog
Chase a beady eyed, slinky, tiny rat
Into a green, algae infested bog

But the cat got bored and climbed a tree,
I watched from a window inside the house,
The dog lost interest and went to flee,
As the rat turned out to be a mouse

The rat forgotten, chased, and was a sparrow
Perplexed, I thought the animals were odd
The dog rested along the Camaro
When all of the sudden, the rat was broad

He scared both of them, to lose their lag
Making me laugh, as they played some tag

See how easy that was? Now, I know I picked a pretty lame topic, but I just started writing this off the top of my head. I wish you well on your poetry and I hope this helped!