Monday 16 May 2011

Merope

Below is my very first attempt at writing a sonnet. After completing the poem I was convinced it was a pretty average piece of poetry but, after some encouraging & supportive comments from my twitter chums, I've decided to offer it up for comments on my main blog page.


It is a Shakespearean sonnet written in iambic pentameter & the rhyming scheme is: a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g


In Greek Mythology, Merope was one of the seven Pleiades. Astronomically, she is one of the seven sisters in the star cluster Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus.


I believe the correct pronounciation of Merope is 'Me-ro-pee'.


Merope

When I behold the silver crusted sky
you turn away, too shamed to meet my gaze.
Oh Merope, I bid thee do not cry -
What kindles your sidereal malaise?
Is it Orion’s chase that makes thee weep?
Did marrying a mortal bring you shame?
Each night before Erebus fosters sleep
I seek the wellhead whence your sorrow came.
Amidst the navy cloth of night you gleam,
A glowing sapphire stitched on heaven’s cloak.
Yet pulchritude does not beget esteem -
Your heart lies scorched ‘midst clouds of stellar smoke.
Switch off your starry light and let me be
your constellation for eternity.

14 comments:

  1. The way you painted these images with metaphors and mythology, negotiating the human essence that really matters in a material Universe. I love this poem! I have a particular affinity to Shakespearean sonnets, to Greek mythology, and a great fascination for celestial objects and to have a poet like you writing about all this, is nectar to my soul. Thank you, Peter. Q x

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  2. This is beautiful Peter..woven together with gorgeous language..I love it! x

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  3. Quirina ~ such incredible comments. Thank you so much. I too have an affinity with those three things. I had decided on a celestial subject & decided to explore the constellations to find her. Of the Pleiades, Merope's 'story' was the saddest so I chose her. Again, sincere thanks for all your encouraging & supportive comments.

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  4. Hi Louise ~ thank you sincerely for your lovely comments. So pleased that you like my sonnet. I truly did have doubts about it at first.

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  5. Peter,

    A wonderful and beautiful sonnet! That it is your first makes it all the more so :)

    I have yet again expanded my knowledge in looking up the words you incorporate within your poetry.

    Thankyou for writing and sharing this.

    Abi x

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  6. The stars will smile at you, Peter, now that they know your love and attention to there existence

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  7. Hi Abi ~ thank you for your wonderful comments. It was an 'interesting' process: a mixture of intense frustration when I couldn't find the words to rhyme or fit the rhythm ... & then exhilaration when a piece of the sonnet came together.

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  8. Hi Edjo ~ thank you so much for reading 'Merope' & for your lovely comment. I hope they do ... & I hope they smile on you too.

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  9. Love this line Peter "Amidst the navy cloth of night you gleam" - I used something similar in one of my poems describing the dark of night as a "... nocturnal cloak ..." ~ no doubts Peter, a great sonnet ! Well done !

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  10. Hi Steve ~ thanks for your lovely comments. I would love to read your sonnet ~ is there a link to it?

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  11. The fun part about the first sonnet is what you think of it after you write your fifth, your tenth your fiftieth..

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  12. Good point Zongrik ~ though I have to say I'm struggling to imagine reaching five, never mind fifty ...

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  13. If this is your first attempt at writing a sonnet, you could have fooled me. Everything seems to fit, and I am particularly hooked by the phrase"pulchtridue does not beget esteem" that was a brave thing to say in a sonnet! Beautifully done in its entirety!

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  14. Thank you so much for your extremely positive & encouraging comments, Jacquie. Very much appreciated.

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