Shakespearean Sonnet

Following information found at: http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1316714-How-to-Write-a-Shakespearean-Sonnet

Two elements need to be considered when writing a Shakespearean sonnet: the experience (or message) within the words and the form to express that experience (or message).

A Shakespearean sonnet contains several key elements that should be present in it's form.
- Composed of 3 quatrains and ending in a couplet
- Each quatrain develops a specific idea related to the ideas in the other quatrains
- The rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg.
- All lines written in iambic pentameter. 10 syllables per line. A suggestion from the website referenced above is to read The Bard aloud to pick up on the short LONG short LONG short LONG short LONG short LONG pattern of proper iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter means 5 feet per line, written in iambs, with the accent on every second syllable. A foot representing a 2 syllable group of words with the second syllable of each pair accented. ("my SOUL does CRY") It's suggested to be careful when using trochees (type of metric foot where the natural stress falls on the first syllable as in DY-ing), anapests (word or word group with the accent falling on the third syllable as in uncontrolled or underneath) or dactyls (word or word group with the accent falling on the first syllable as in harmony or melody).