Student Sonnets

In British Literature (grades 11 and 12), students recently wrote sonnets imitating Shakespeare's Sonnet 130: 

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:

   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare.

Like the original, they had to contrast two things in the format of a Shakespearean sonnet: 

-14 lines
-iambic pentameter (5 pairs of syllables that sound like da-DUH)
-a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

-the final couplet summarizes the sonnet or offers another way to look at the topic

I wrote a sample two years ago, the last time I taught this course.  I'd love to improve parts of it, but this is as good as it's getting for now:

Truth and Lies

The Word of God is nothing like a lie,

For lies deceive, distort, divide, destroy.

Enslaving us through shame, they terrify;

They promise hope, yet rob us of our joy.

Their father, satan*, whispers to our hearts,

“Your ways are right.”  We nod, puffed up with pride.

Soon after, our illusions fall apart;

Exposed, we seek in vain a place to hide.

Bright light, God’s Word, illuminates our deeds,

Obscene or pure.  It slices wrong from right.

Awakening us, it satisfies our needs,

Revealing Christ, our true Hope and Delight.

Since He’s defeated satan, lies must crumble,

But God’s Word stands forever – we won’t stumble.

*Jon Acuff refers to a lowercase "s" as a way to give satan "the middle finger of grammar."  I always got a kick out of that.*

I told students they could have fun with their topics of comparison, and they did!  Here are a few that I especially enjoyed reading - I hope you do too.  

The Oval and the Round (Monika and Dillon)

The toilet is not like the porc’lain tub.

The grimy toilet is a pain to clean.

And yet the tub is fun for all to scrub,

For when you’re done, the tub shall sparkle keen.

While water in the tub might scald with steam

And make you wish you'd cooled it down before,

The toilet’s frigid water makes you scream

If ever doomed to feel the water’s core.

Although the tub is luxury for all,

The toilet is a mandatory part

Of all our lives. The toilet will stand tall

When both are precious in the human heart.

The oval and the round ceramic bros

Are equal, as each frequent client knows.

Books vs. Life (Alice and Hasub)

A book is nothing like the life we have.

For life is tough, unfair, give me a break!

True happiness and joy are what we crave.

We look, we try, we hope, yet still we ache.

But books have my Prince Charming on his horse

About to rescue damsels in distress.

But life? What good can come of such a force?

It hurts, is dull, and is an ugly mess.

But wait. Hmm, maybe life ain’t all that bad.

I’ve made a lot of memories quite nice.

And boy do I have many friends to add!

The perks of life like ice cream, friends, and rice,

I guess they make it worth the pain and crap.

And yeah! the greatest perk of all: the nap.

LOVE Sonnet (Kailyn and Daehan) 
Inspired by The Hunger Games

The Baker’s son is nothing like Katniss

Her heart is cold against the ones who care

But he loves her because she brings him bliss

She can’t get close for inside she is scared.

His love for her was like an open book

While Katniss’ heart was with some other guy

His loyal heart is what she cruelly took

While hers was like a fire; sparks would fly

But he pressed on and gained the love he seeked

So, Cupid’s arrows hit and pierced her heart

Oh Man! She saw his strength though he was weak

Oh boy! He is the finest man on earth!

With two kids and a marriage bound to last
Try harder, men, or they’ll be stolen fast!

A Sonnet On Wifi and God 
(Gloria and Seung Hyun)

The wifi access? Nothing like our God!

It gives you wants but he gives you your needs

As you get close, connections are more strong

But you have no control with Him; He’ll lead!

The happiness the wifi brings is short

Yet God brings joy that lasts for your whole life

You waste your time online and ask, ‘what for?’

While God gives you a purpose; He’s the Light.

So what’s to learn, to say, to change, or do?

Connect with God and leave the wifi out?

The love of wifi is not real or true

But God’s deep love is what it’s all about.

God wins! Surprise! Pretend you did not know!

He’s never off (just on) and never slows.