Prior to Shakespeare, the Italian poet Petrarch used one octave (eight-line stanza) and one sestet (six-line stanza) to get 14 lines. For example, Shakespeare's sonnets consist of three stanzas that are four lines each, ending with a couplet. The meter, rhyme scheme and tone vary from poet to poet. Writing the SonnetĪll sonnets are 14 lines. Or, write about how humanity impacts the environment - describe a construction site, a tumble-down barn, or a billboard. Choose simple things, such as a bird building a nest, a caterpillar emerging from its chrysalis, a stray cat chasing a squirrel. You don't need to travel to the ends of the Earth, just take a walk in your backyard, along a creek or through a botanical garden to generate inspiration for a sonnet. Older adults can draw upon a lifetime of experience, both uplifting and sorrowful, including the death of a loved one, an empty nest, or fulfilling a promise to another. For a new parent, it may be a description of a child's first steps, first words or first haircut. For young adults, consider a poem describing a first date, a first kiss or a first achievement. The sense of wonder and exploration as humans grow and mature is a theme almost tailor-made for a sonnet. To write a love sonnet, think about what inspires the most joy or pain, and you'll discover a wealth of things to say. The permutations of love as a sonnet topic are endless - romantic love, unrequited love, discovery of new love, loss of old love, familial love, love and death, love and God, love and ice cream. That remarkable human emotion, love is perhaps the most popular topic for authors, song writers, advice columnists and poets.