Is this well written sonnet for my English assignment?

Question

The meaning of life is to follow your dreams
To never give up
And have high self esteem
To live to rejoice every single sunup
The meaning of life is to not allow yourself to be pushed around
To live your own life for yourself and not for anyone else
To live as if you are free and not homebound
To hear the music of the bells
The meaning of life is to savor every moment
And regret nothing you do
To make every moment brilliant
To live with much virtue
So live your life with joy and laughter
And never expect one single person to have every single answer.

This is for my ninth grade english class

Answer 1

yeah, its okay. a little jumpy in my opinion.

Answer 2

Honestly I think it has a beautiful message and that's half the battle. The only issue I see is with the line length - because of it the poem doesn't seem to rhyme. Try revising it a bit. For example, in the first four lines, if you remove the word 'high' the entire thing actually flows. Try working on it a bit more. Sometimes writing the number of syllables in each line to the side will help you to see the disparities a little bit better.

Keep up the good work, if you work at it real hard you might someday be as good as the Bard himself :) Best of luck

Answer 3

It's a beautiful poem, and quite a good one.

But it's not a sonnet of any sort.

A sonnet is 14 lines of "iambic pentameter" which means ten syllables per line.

The rhyme scheme is flexible: popular are ababcdcdefefgg and abbacddceffegg... but people have used other formats and called it a "sonnet." Anything ending in a couplet (two lines that rhyme) should do.

Here's a start for you, from your poem:

"The meaning of life is to follow dreams,"

...See how the slight change makes it fit the rhythm? then 13 more lines like this in a rhyme scheme like above, ending in a couplet, and you're home free!

Hope this has been helpful. Sonnets are notoriously harder to write in English than in Italian, the language of the form's origin, because English words are harder to rhyme.

Answer 4

You've forgotten the iambic pentameter. Just pick up any Shakespearean sonnet and you'll see. It's the way the beat falls on each word. This is key for an Elizabethan sonnet form. If you're studying Shakespeare and that's what this assignment is for, you should do that.

The subject material is fine.

Answer 5

Well written, ill concieved.

Ah, the "self " life, esteeming self beyond all.

To regret nothing, a self made god, what perfection.

"To live with much virtue" ? .... contradiction.


In the end you will have to give up, or can your brilliance take care of that ?

Answer 6

Impressive. It makes a lot of sense. Keep up the good work. ^_^