New Paradox

a five days coast to coast poetry festival

Poetry Lab | Research | New Paradox | American Shorts | Emerging Poets Program

New Paradox is a blend of a Shakespaerean (UK – 14 lines) and Petrachan (Italian – 14 lines) Sonnet and together with others I want to research, develop and design a new rhyme/scheme that can rock the world!

The Petrarchan / Italian sonnets have 14 lines that follow the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA CDCCDC or ABBA ABBA CDECDE. The poems are divided into two sections, the octave, or first eight lines, often makes a proposition, which asks a question or describes a problem. Then the sestet, or final six lines, proposes a resolution or solution.

The Shakespearean / English sonnets have 14 lines of verse, but this type of sonnet has three quatrains and one couplet instead of an octave and a sestet. Also, these sonnets follow an ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme. A single quatrain is made up of four lines of verse, and a couplet is made up of two lines.

The New Paradox blend both and create  blend both and create this ABAB ef CDCD ef GG rhyme scheme. The ABAB is the pro statement, the CDCD is the contra statement and GG is the paradox on both statements with ef’s as slant intermezzo’s.

It will be something like this:
part 1. (4 lines pro statement) ABAB
part 2. (2 lines slant intermezzo) EF
part 3. (4 lines contra statement) CDCD
part 4. (2 lines slant intermezzo) EF
part 5. (2 lines paradox) GG

Note: 1 vs 3 result in 5 and the intermezzo 2 and 4 become one.

Intermezzo’s
Moreover the Intermezzo should not be related to the poem itself and the two intermezzo’s should be read as one poem too.