Named "the most popular poet in America" in the New York Times, Billy Collins is known for his wit and humor in his observations of the everyday, particularly reading and writing.
All we need is fourteen lines, well, thirteen now,
and after this one just a dozen
to launch a little ship on love's storm-tossed seas,
then only ten more left like rows of beans.
How easily it goes unless you get Elizabethan
and insist the iambic bongos must be played
and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines,
one for every station of the cross.
But hang on here while we make the turn
into the final six where all will be resolved,
where longing and heartache will find an end,
where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen,
take off those crazy medieval tights,
blowout the lights, and come at last to bed.
and after this one just a dozen
to launch a little ship on love's storm-tossed seas,
then only ten more left like rows of beans.
How easily it goes unless you get Elizabethan
and insist the iambic bongos must be played
and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines,
one for every station of the cross.
But hang on here while we make the turn
into the final six where all will be resolved,
where longing and heartache will find an end,
where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen,
take off those crazy medieval tights,
blowout the lights, and come at last to bed.
Billy Collins's poem "Sonnet" is a sonnet detailing the difficulty and tediousness of writing a sonnet. Initially he uses a nonchalant tone stating that "all we need is fourteen lines." He continues to emphasize the ease with which he can write a sonnet by noting when he has completed another line ("thirteen now and after this one just a dozen," "only ten more left").
However, he soon realizes that there is more to a sonnet than simply 14 lines about "love's storm tossed seas." For example, an Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme. These sonnets "insist the iambic bongos be played and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines." Similarly, Collins suggests the difficulty of writing a Petrarchan sonnet, noting that Laura will tell Petrarch to "put down his pen" and "come to bed at last."
Collins writes his poem using the typical structure of a Petrarchan sonnet: an octet followed by a sestet. He describes the struggle of writing a sonnet in the octet, then after the turning point or volta ("hang in here while we make the turn") he details the resolution ("into the final six where all will be resolved"). However, the "resolution" is Petrarch putting down his pen and going to bed, in what appears to be defeat. By using the basic structure of a sonnet but failing to follow many of the rules, such as meter and rhyme, Collins conveys the difficulty and frustration experienced by artists such as Petrarch and others, including himself.
However, this poem also conveys a larger message: we should not waste our time and energy trying to achieve the impossible. Instead, we should think freely, love freely, and express ourselves freely. Only then are we able to reach our goals and achieve success.
However, he soon realizes that there is more to a sonnet than simply 14 lines about "love's storm tossed seas." For example, an Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme. These sonnets "insist the iambic bongos be played and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines." Similarly, Collins suggests the difficulty of writing a Petrarchan sonnet, noting that Laura will tell Petrarch to "put down his pen" and "come to bed at last."
Collins writes his poem using the typical structure of a Petrarchan sonnet: an octet followed by a sestet. He describes the struggle of writing a sonnet in the octet, then after the turning point or volta ("hang in here while we make the turn") he details the resolution ("into the final six where all will be resolved"). However, the "resolution" is Petrarch putting down his pen and going to bed, in what appears to be defeat. By using the basic structure of a sonnet but failing to follow many of the rules, such as meter and rhyme, Collins conveys the difficulty and frustration experienced by artists such as Petrarch and others, including himself.
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