A sestina is a form of poetry, much like a haiku or sonnet, which has its own set of rules. While most people have never heard of a sestina, it can be a fascinating form to work with for both beginners and experts alike. This article will show you how to create your own sestina ...
William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 127 commences the beginning of the so-called Dark Lady cycle. While the description of physical attributes and the imagery related to the Dark Lady certain indicate that these poems are intended to be read as being addressed to an actual figure, it is also clear from the ambivalence that the author feels ...
Why 21 Quotes? There are 21 quotes, for 21 days, the number of days it takes to create or break a habit. Do you want to motivate yourself to write, create, get healthy and loose weight? Do you want more peace, love, happiness, creativity, justice, or courage in our lives and world, we must first ...
The only thing that is almost always true about a sonnet is that it has 14 lines. The Medieval and Renaissance poets who pioneered it found this number was perfect for making short, but not too short, statements on matters of love, politics, or even religion (though most often love). And though modern sonnets can ...
Many of you may have learned about these people or heard these terms back when you were still in middle or high schools. Well, here’s a guide to 157 of the most common terms and people from the world’s history! This is great for review, especially if any of you have kids that are learning ...
Sonnet 126 by William Shakespeare is addressed to a male character as a warning of time’s eventual victory over us all. The sonnet begins in affirming that the male has temporarily escaped a fate most of his peers have already endured. Shakespeare’s introductory lines, “O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy pow’r/ Dost hold ...
Some challenges are fun to accept. Creating an original guide on how to write the poetry form sestina, including snippets about the history and composition, sounded enjoyable. Finding an example for the hyperlink took a bit of time, as some of the more famous sestinas are merely rants with foul language. History The famous French ...
Basically, cities developed as a means of protection of its inhabitants. “In certain respects, the…town had succeeded as no previous urban culture had done. For the first time, the majority of its in habitants of a city were free men: except for special groups like the Jews, city dweller and citizen were now synonymous terms” ...
Much like his contemporaries, Ben Jonson utilized the iambic pentameter, though not in the traditional sonnet form. Within “To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare”, Jonson uses couplets to monumentalize the passing of one of the most prolific dramatists of the sixteenth century. While the poem is a testimony to the ...
Shakespeare’s 1623 comedic play Twelfth Night complicates sex and social roles, in order to explore further those sexual and social roles. In this play, a male actor plays the female character of Viola (as a male would play all female characters), who is then disguised as the male youth Cesario in the play itself. Disguised ...
