External Form (sonnets) 1: Joy Sonnet in a Random Universe - Helen Chasin

In this poem, everything seems out of order. Chasin, though, by useing la and other random terms, has kept control of her poem. She doesn't particularly rhyme, but she uses her scheme to control her poem. I believe that she is writing a sonnet, or maybe not. First off, she is using the standard fourteen lines. Besides that, she is not staying with the iambic pentameter or the rhyme scheme. I want to say this is a new form of sonnet, but it does not follow the guidelines of a sonnet. I feel like "Joy Sonnet in a Random Universe" means a sonnet based on the fact that she is happy. Since she is in this "random universe", the regular guidelines don't apply. I feel like she is going back to the basics, which shows that a sonnet has fourteen lines. That is all that matters. Since rhyme schemes are used to show control, other poets may say she had no control of her writing, but that is on the contrary. She had a strong control, and it is seen in her square-shaped sonnet.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDMZsT2OGag

This video shows how few people really understand the poem.