The Sonnet
The poetic form a sonnet can stir many reactions from writers. Some see this form as a “scapegoat for every tirade against the supposed limitations/artificiality/hobbling of the free spirit” (Finch & Varnes 297). Yet a closer look at sonnets, one can see that this form allows the writer and reader to feel the emotional impact as well as feel the turn (Volta) that leads to the conclusion of the poem. Sonnets do have a strict structure. They have 14 lines. They also have 10 syllables for each line. Sonnets usually focus on a single theme and at the end have a conclusion or turn of events in the last lines. In the text “A Little Book On Form,” Hass calls a sonnet “one durable widely used form in English poetry in the last 500 years” (Hass 121). Both the Italian and English sonnets became the most popular. In “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, this is a good example of an Italian sonnet.
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame.
With conquering limbs of stride from land to land.
Here at our sea washed sunset — gates shall stand.
A mighty women with a torch, whose flame
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Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Is mother of exiles. From her beacon hand
Glows worldwide welcome, her mild eyes command.”
This sonnet shows our Statue of Liberty and the ideals that stand behind her. It is a contrast to the “Colossus” of the Greeks who built their statue to show how strong and conquering they were to the other city states. Here, “Lady Liberty” is welcoming those who are escaping their homeland in search of a better life. Lazarus wrote this sonnet as a means to raise money to help fund the construction of the Statue of Liberty. At the end of the sonnet you hear Lady Liberty say “give me your tired, your poor, your huddle masses, yearning to be free” (Finch & Varnes 305). Sonnets can be used as this one is t express deep longing and emotion.
Lazarus, Emma. “The New Colossus.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes, U of Michigan P, 2002, p. 305.
Hass, Robert. “Sonnet.” A Little Book on Form, Ecco, 2017, pp. 121–131.
