I've had this idea for a while, and so now I've finally gotten around to making it. So here it is, the sonnet contest! Some of you may be asking, "what is a sonnet?" A sonnet is a 14 line poem usually in iambic pentameter (look it up if you don't know what that means). It contains a rhyme scheme of "ABABCDCDEFEFGG" (this is going by the Shakespearian style).
This being said, here be the rules:
-sonnet must fit theme -sonnet must be in by the deadline -must be written for the contest (no poems written pre-contest) -one submission per user -the same person cannot win on consecutive themes
remember all general rules of the AMW as well, found here.
The first theme for the contest shall be "life and death". Entries are due by July 31st. Good luck
If 10 is an official rule and absolute, then Quirinus1's line of "When you're dead or alive, asleep or awake?" (when[1] you're[2] dead[3] or[4] a[5]-live[6], a[7]-sleep[8] or[9] a[10]-wake[11]) disqualifies him for being 11 syllables. Therefore, there would be no valid submissions yet.
May I suggest you let the judge figure out the rules? It pretty much sound like this thread needs to be remade entirely with really specific rules before anyone is happy.
I marched to war to protect my loved ones, Risked my life to keep them away from harm, As I'm kept awake by thundering guns, I remember holding you in my arms.
How do I continue to live and fight, When I lost she who I am fighting for, The news reached our trenches late last night, That my poor little Annie is no more.
I never noticed how big the house is, Not until I had to live here alone, If you spent your last days living like this, I fear had I stayed, you would not be gone.
I built that garden you always asked for. But it doesn't really matter no more.
He's my entry. Better late than never, I guess. It's about a WW1 soldier.
Since my other one is disqualified, this will be my submission for the round instead:
[I] A life is so delicate and fragile, The struggle to survive is quite immense, One must always be alert and agile. The battle can quickly become intense,
I continue my constant endeavor, Evading every snare beneath my feet, But I know I can't escape forever, Because the reaper always reaps his wheat.
I attempt to escape the bond, be free, Treating every day like it is my last, The anticipation of death haunts me, Like a rigged gamble, the die has been cast.
One poor step, one wrong move, or single slip, And I will find myself in death's harsh grip. [/i]
Sorry about the delay. I was on vacation and didn't find out that there was no internet until I got there. I'll have the judging up by tomorrow, most likely tonight.
I marched to war to protect my loved ones, Risked my life to keep them away from harm, As I'm kept awake by thundering guns, I remember holding you in my arms.
How do I continue to live and fight, When I lost she who I am fighting for, The news reached our trenches late last night, That my poor little Annie is no more.
I never noticed how big the house is, Not until I had to live here alone, If you spent your last days living like this, I fear had I stayed, you would not be gone.
I built that garden you always asked for. But it doesn't really matter no more.
I like how you incorporated war into this; I wasn't actually expecting that sort of thing (although I probably should have ). I also like how you incorporated dealing with the loss of a loved one and dealing with death around the solider into this. The timeline effect you have going in each verse just seems to add to the drama of the poem. On a side note, I get the feeling that the soldier is from the south in the last line.
EmperorPalpatine:
A life is so delicate and fragile, The struggle to survive is quite immense, One must always be alert and agile. The battle can quickly become intense,
I continue my constant endeavor, Evading every snare beneath my feet, But I know I can't escape forever, Because the reaper always reaps his wheat.
I attempt to escape the bond, be free, Treating every day like it is my last, The anticipation of death haunts me, Like a rigged gamble, the die has been cast.
One poor step, one wrong move, or single slip, And I will find myself in death's harsh grip.
This gives me the feeling of being the guy in the Exit Path games. How random death can be is very well expressed, and I like that. I noticed that there are a ton of commas in the poem; try mixing up some of the punctuation.
Quirinus1:
How can you differ between the two told? When you're dead or alive, asleep or awake? How can you differ between hot and cold? Whether life is true, or simply a fake?
Life misleads, hates, cheats you 'till end it comes. Life warms, sparkles, makes happy untill end. Life is there untill the bearer succumbs. Life can be fun, until things do not blend.
But then, death, always the easy way out. No pain, suffering for eternal dead. Except for those religious, the devout. Death is simple, yet still by many dread.
Beware, when life is sometimes hard to face, think twice, before you then choose death's embrace.
Very outright in the life vs. death. The first two stanzas are very repetitive, with the questions in the first and the repetition of life in the second. I'm a bit confused as to what the third stanza is about. I think it's death in general, but I think it could be about suicide. It's a good idea, but could be improved on a bit.
So the results:
Bronze: Quirinus1
Silver: EmperorPalpatine
Gold: iMogwai.
For now, the prize is just bragging rights, but if this gets more popular, maybe merits will begin to be rewards.
Repetition: on of the most used forms of poetry: recurring the same theme many times. Also the stanza's are about the same so the poem has a correct and orderly structure.
