[split] Snow where else to be (in February)

[ellajam]

I am curious if you consider those 14 line poems that Shakespeare wrote to be Sonnets? They certainly vary from the rules that govern the Italian originals, and precisely because English as a language is different from Italian — Italian allows, among other things, I am told, for tight/limited/simple rhyme schemes to not sound foolish, like your dique example.

I suppose you are right, it would be stupid for us to call them so, and Shakespeare was a fool for writing them — there is no way he or any other English writer could produce anything that could come close to the Italians [which I am sure some Italian writers certainly believe...], although he and his writing kin would likely be grateful for the reassurance that they are not genetically idiots or otherwise inherently incapable of writing good, albeit of course, other forms of, poetry.

Beyond that, well, I mean, your friend’s wife’s brother’s recollection of the opinion of unnamed Japanese poets. That's pretty much a persuasive slam-dunk, no?

;-)