Rainis Sonnet is a short meditation. Whether or not it is a true sonnet is up for debate. It is a lyrical meditation with a turn or volta, however it is shorter than the usual quatorzain of the sonnet. It is named for the Latvian philosopher and poet Janis Rainis (1868-1929) Rainis Sonnet is: • written in 9 lines made up of a quatrain, followed by a tercet ending with a couplet. • metered, primarily iambic pentameter. • rhymed, turned on only 3 rhymes. Rhyme scheme abab (cbc or cac) and (aa or bb or cc). abab cbc aa abab cbc bb abab cbc cc abab cac aa abab cac bb abab cac cc abab cac aa
written with the epiphany arriving in the tercet.
Example Poem:
Tell Me of Your Anger in Whispers (Rainis Sonnet)
Should you be moved to speak in anger, dear,
I ask that first you test your words alone.
You’ll want to be assured your meaning’s clear.
If anger stems from blunder of my own
There’s nothing risked delaying words that grate.
Then speak in dulcet soft and husky tone.
I’ll listen, think, and I’ll appreciate.
My love, use whispers closely late tonight.
I love you dearly, I will make it right.
© Larry Eberhart, aka, Lawrencealot, Oct. 11, 2012
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