Sonnet

The Poet

Shakespeare was a playwright of great ability,
And, although very few of us know it,
That besides being a great writer of tragedy,
Shakespeare was a notable poet.
He wrote sonnets of love and sonnets of truth,
Countless sonnets of feelings in-depth.
He wrote sonnets of doubt and sonnets of proof,
Even sonnets about life and death.
His sonnets were unique 'cause he had his own style,
And this unique style was named after him.
Now, his sonnets have been 'round for quite some while,
And are read over and over again.
Although Shakespeare is dead and gone,
His great sonnets live on and on. 

Brian Swaine

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-poet-68/

This poem follows the Shakespearean form of sonnets with the abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme, and there aren't many modifications this poet used--except for the use of modern language. The volta occurs where it normally would when the rhyme scheme shifts from efef to gg. This form of the poem is clearly used to demonstrate Shakespeare's influence in the poetic world. I chose this poem, not because I think it's good-honestly, I don't-but I think it's ironic how this poet is writing a shakespearean sonnet about Shakespeare. I think the meaning of this poem is to highlight Shakespeare's input on poetry, but I think this makes the author sound ignorant...I mean, come on, everyone knows Shakespeare wrote poems too. This might have been a good poem if it had actually been satirical. I think the author knows that everyone knows about Shakespeare's poems and is trying to be funny, but he does a poor job of it and it makes him and his writing look weak. So I chose this poem because the author's inability to crack jokes made me laugh.