Welcome!

Greetings, gentlefolk, and welcome to The Weekly Sonnet. Now, the site itself doesn't launch for another two weeks, but I figured I'd take this time to explain what this site is all about.

What's a sonnet?
The term "sonnet" comes from the Italian "sonetto", or "little song". The invention of the sonnet is credited to a 13th century Italian poet named Giacomo da Lentini, and popularlized by none other than Shakespeare. If you don't know who he is, you should probably get off the internet for a few minutes and read a book.

The sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that introduces, contemplates, and finishes a complete thought. Throughout the years, that thought has usually had something to do with love, philosophy, or a combination of the two, but deviations have existed since its conception. This process is typically split up into two sections: the octave, which describes the situation or idea, and the sestet, which brings the idea to a close. These two primary sections are often broken down into stanzas and/or couplets, and traditionally, sonnets are written in iambic pentameter.

In terms of rhyme scheme, sonnets typically come in two flavors; English (or Shakespearean) sonnets rock the ababcdcdefefgg, while Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets go with a less straightforward style of abbaabbacdecde. And while these two types are the most common, everyone from Wordsworth to Dylan Thomas has popped out of these schemes at their leisure.

What's this site all about?
The Weekly Sonnet is going to be an exploration into the world of sonnets. Time has weathered the standards on what a sonnet really is, and using this site, I want to poke around in those boundaries by spinning a new sonnet every week. Some will be traditional, straight-laced works, some will push the envelope on the definition of a sonnet, and some will just be me playing around with language. But most of all, this site is my excuse to write on a regular basis. After all, I'm not exactly a writer if I don't write.

The Weekly Sonnet will officially launch on June 3rd, and will be updated on Tuesdays after that. I wish I could tell you there's a set time I'll be updating, but I drink way too much to set that in stone. I'll be shooting for the midnight before, but there will be times where I'll miss that deadline. I'm a slacker, you'll have to deal with that.

Edit: I figured out how to schedule posts, which means no late sonnets unless I really miss the boat that week. The sonnets will be posted every Tuesday at midnight.

Well, that's it for now. I hope you enjoy the poetry that's to come. Heck, I hope I enjoy it. But there's really only one way to find out. See you kids in two weeks.