Appreciating Poetry: Form

The form of a poem means the way in which it is structured, the number of lines  in a stanza or verse, the number of verses in the poem overall and so forth.  There are several aspects to bear in mind when considering the form of a poem.  The first one is to identify the form of a particular poem. The second is to  compare the form of the poem considered with the forms of other poems and the  third part is to consider whether the choice of form adds to the value and  pleasure of the poem and, if so, in which way.

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Poems of Milton: To a Virtuous Young Lady

Milton’s Sonnet IX, commonly known as ‘To a Virtuous Young Lady,’ is a problematic poem when read in the context of modern society. Although it is possible to praise the poet’s ability with word choice, scansion and general technical skill and, moreover, to think about secondary meanings and allusions, it is all but impossible to overlook the main part of the poem’s message.

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Poems of Milton: Sonnet VIII: When Assault Was Intended to the City

Milton’s eighth sonnet, originally untitled but subsequently more commonly known as ‘When Assault Was Intended to the City,’ was written by the poet in 1642 as a form of joke – a ‘serious joke’ as it has been described. Milton imagines himself at his home in London at a period when it might have been attacked by King Charles I and his army. The poem’s fancy is that it should be written out on a piece of paper which is then pinned to the outside of the door and acts as a means of an appeal to spare the life of the poet who cowers inside.

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Poems of Milton: Sonnet VII: On His Being Arrived at the Age of 23

The seventh of Milton’s sonnets (numbers II-VI are in Latin and not often read these days) finds the poet concerned at how quickly time is flowing away from him. In particular, he frets about having arrived at the age of 23 (which is an age to many of his readers would love to return) and at a moment of his life in which he was entering uncharted territory.

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Poems of Milton: Sonnet I: O Nightingale

John Milton’s first known poem in English is thought to be the sonnet starting ‘O Nightingale,’ which is generally referred to as Sonnet I. Milton seems to have written this poem at about the same time as six sonnets written in Italian (showing his mastery of that language) in or around 1630.

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Sonnets of Shakespeare: Structure

The sonnet is a poetic form which had existed in European literature for some centuries prior to Shakespeare adopting his own version. Early forms of the sonnet were mostly used in Italy and the structure tended to become one of 14 lines, with a rhyming scheme of abab abab cdcdcd.

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