How do you write a sonnet if you've never been in love?

Question

I have an assignment for my class to write a valentines day sonnet. But I have serious writers block because I've never been in love. I don't even believe in love the way most people do. I think love is just a word that people use to label thier feelings of attachment. And unconditional love is an impossible fairy tale because without condtions love would not be possible in the first place. Sure, I've had a few girlfriends that I liked, but I don't think I loved them because I knew exactly why I liked them and wasn't saddened when the relationship was over. I do write poetry as a hobby, so metaphor, rhyme and imagery are not hard for me. But how does someone who's never been in love write a sonnet about it? Where do I start?

Answer 1

Write an anti-love sonnet, unless your teacher specifically asked you to write a sonnet about being in love. Express your feelings about love (i.e. how you don't believe in it in its traditional sense). It has the potential to be something fresh and original, a standout among the rest of the sappy poetry your teacher will likely encounter.

But if you get a bad grade, don't blame me.

Answer 2

I would maybe go for another angle on love. Maybe you have never been in love with another person....but I am sure you have felt an unconditional love for something else....and unconditional love in not based on the conditions around you, it is possible in SPITE of those conditions........it is not a fairy tale. If you do not believe me ask a mother. She will tell you of the unconditional love she has for her child. I am off track. If you are looking for inspiration for your sonnet then perhaps you can write of anothers love....like love for country or god. Perhaps you can write on searching for tue love. What I am getting at is that you should write from someplace that is REAL for YOU....thats when your writings become poems.

Answer 3

Writers use their mind's eye each and all the time. I call it the artwork of empathy. I as quickly as wrote a poem a pair of lady whose boyfriend replaced into shot interior the line, and died in her hands. human beings surely concept I went via something that tragic. Their comments have been like: "wow, that's noticeably unhappy...i don't be attentive to what that's like yet blah blah blah." surely i've got by no potential even had a boyfriend, or been on a date. i've got by no potential even had my first kiss.

Answer 4

Your feelings on love aside, it's probably best to start with the last 2 lines of the sonnet and work backwards.
Structured poems such as Sonnets are a tad easier to contruct as they have to follow a format.
Perhaps you can fill your sonnet full of cliches or possibly about your views on love itself.

Answer 5

you imagine what it must feel like to have someone see so far in to your soul that they know you better than you do. i've never been in love either, but i can try to imagine what it might feel like.