Sonnet Redoublé: The Tyrant

[lit_luminary]

Title: Sonnet Redoublé: The Tyrant
Author: lit_luminary
Rating: PG for concepts.
Summary: Various perspectives on Chase's decision to kill Dibala and its aftermath.
Note: The sonnet redoublé is a highly structured form, consisting of fifteen sonnets.  The first fourteen form a corona (i.e., the last line of the first is the first line of the second

Comments

[anonymous]

This expresses so well what I think Chase's emotions and thoughts during that period were. You also caught House's thinking as well. He knew, in his own way approved and took steps to protect. The bond between Chase and House has always been there and in it's own was is stronger than he had with any of the other three fellows then or the present group.

BTW I'm still looking forward to more of the longer pieces in your story cycle.

[lit_luminary]

Thank you so much for commenting! I really enjoyed the light that arc shed on their relationship, even if just by implication and unspoken understandings.

I'm continuing work on my longer stories; updates will turn up on this journal when available.

[cuddyclothes]

Wow! You are truly an amazing writer, and the concepts you bring to bear on your work are fascinating to me. Dumb question: how long does it take you to write one of these? (My father used to write classical poetry, including sonnets.) And do you write poetry on other subjects? I'm so interested in your process.

Oh, forgot to add...the captures the cycle of opinions, feelings, etc. perfectly.

[lit_luminary]

Thank you for your interest in my process!

To answer your question (which isn't stupid; I get it often): the average single sonnet takes me twenty to thirty minutes, but something like this obviously means a larger time investment--in this case, a few sonnets each day for most of a week. The key to the sonnet redoublé is to write the last sonnet first, and to do it while keeping in mind that you need to be able to interpret the lines of that sonnet from multiple angles.

Most of my poetry is fanfic poetry (whether based on canon, my own fic or other people's, which sometimes happens when the mood takes me), but I occasionally write sonnets on other topics. None of those are published/posted anywhere, however.

I'm so glad you enjoyed this--I was afraid most people would be scared off by the poetry and give it a pass.

[cuddyclothes]

Nothing scares me off...except mpreg and Wilson beating the shit out of House. I always love your work.

[lit_luminary]

Thank you. And likewise.

[sydpenguinbunny]

This is awesome. I am blown away... How long did it take you to write this??

[lit_luminary]

I'm so glad you enjoyed this and took the time to comment: so many readers don't bother with poetry that I didn't get as much response to this as I'd hoped.

Writing it took about a week, at a rate of a few sonnets a night. (The key to the sonnet redoublé is to write the last sonnet first, then pencil in the first and last lines of all the others. That lets you fill in all the rest and maintain the overall flow of the narrative, because this is very much a form intended to tell a story.)

[sydpenguinbunny]

I was really inspired by this and I was thinking of trying to do one for Breaking Bad... if I do (and from what I have done so far... it is so damn hard! I give you so much credit for not only doing it at all but making it so awesome :D) I shall give you much credit :D

[lit_luminary]

I'm delighted to hear you were inspired, and I hope you do end up writing a sonnet redoublé of your own: there aren't nearly enough of them around, and it's definitely a rewarding exercise.

Some things I learned in the process of writing two of them (the other is based on an AU House/His Dark Materials fusion): as I said, the final sonnet is the key. That one will sum up everything, and even better if it shifts the reader's perspective in a surprising way. (For example, "We aren't really so different, you and I" is a very different statement from Dibala's mouth than from House's.) You want that last sonnet to have lines that can be interpreted from multiple angles--things more than one character could say.

Once I'd finished that and written in the first and last lines of all the preceding sonnets, I wrote each proto-sonnet's speaker and addressee, and a titular keyword if one came to mind. That gave me a general idea of the storyline I was following and kept the narrative coherent.