Four Quatrains On Bigotry Poem by Paul Hartal

This poem does not follow the common verse form of the Petrarcan or Shakespearean sonnet in fourteen lines. Instead, it expands to sixteen lines, which are structured in four quatrains. Composed without meter in a variety of the Goethe stanza, the rhyme scheme of the four lines in each quatrain can be expressed as a-b-a-b. As a poetic form, the sonnet reigns supreme, a time-honored and adaptable lyric arrangement. In spite of its predisposed format, it exhibits quite a multitude of patterns. Dante’s curtal sonnets, embedded in his “La Vita Nuova”, are curtailed to ten lines, whereas the Victorian poet George Meredith wrote “Modern Love” in 16-line sonnets.

If you would like to read other sonnets of mine on PoemHunter, please, see “Oranges and Grapes” (14 lines and foot notes) and those listed below:

Every Man Remains An Island (5 q = five quatrains) ,
Four Seasons (4q) ,
Friendship (4q) ,
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise (3q) ,
Her Kiss (4q) ,
I Dream the Dream of Shepherds (4 q) ,
Magic Stairs (3q) ,
Sang Froid (3q) ,
“Slanted Eyes (4q) ,
Sonnet to an Accidental Parcel (3q followed by a couplet) ,
The Searcher” (5q) ,
The Sunset Splashes (2 q followed by a sestet, or 6-lined stanza) .
Tired Light (4 q) ,
Valium (4q) ,
Weeds and Hyacints (3q followed by a couplet)
Whispering Forest (3 q followed by a couplet) ,
Poem for a Right Angle (5 q)