04-16-2014, 07:16 PM
Hiya hippy, sorry I missed this -- although sonnets in English are most commonly written in iambic pentameter, that's not what makes it a sonnet. Sonnets need to be lyrical (that is, dealing with emotion, abstract concepts or philosophies) and the best way to achieve this is through regular meter (sonnet means "little song" after all). Really, it's the question-and-answer or setup-and-resolution, with a volte (about-face) that makes the sonnet work. There are several contemporary sonnets that use no meter at all but still follow this basic pattern and because of their exciting use of sonic techniques and metaphor, they still work well. The key is to learn the rules before you break them, so that everyone knows you're doing it on purpose and not just because you can't be bothered learning the traditions 
For me though, I don't see any reason to break with traditional meter because it's what I love doing and I daresay I'm not too terrible at it. My first sonnets were in iambic heptameter and they were no less sonnets than my later ones -- I still revert to the longer lines now and then but I probably wouldn't consider mucking about with the 2-part concept of the sonnet. If you write a crown that starts with all-problem and ends with all-resolution you don't really have sonnets in my book, you have cantos of 14 lines each.
For me though, I don't see any reason to break with traditional meter because it's what I love doing and I daresay I'm not too terrible at it. My first sonnets were in iambic heptameter and they were no less sonnets than my later ones -- I still revert to the longer lines now and then but I probably wouldn't consider mucking about with the 2-part concept of the sonnet. If you write a crown that starts with all-problem and ends with all-resolution you don't really have sonnets in my book, you have cantos of 14 lines each.
It could be worse