“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare,mirrored back to the bard (displays 2---2 pattern).
Shall I reflect upon that summer’s day?
Thou art and still now seem more temperate:
Rough winds oft rustle growing leaves of May,
And summer’s warmth is often brief a date;
Sometime too golden Sonbeam from heaven shines,
And often such intense complexion dimm’d;
And every day's display sometime declines,
By chance, fast drifting clouds with course untrimm’d;
But thy sweet sonnets' rhymes persist - not fade,
Nor lose lyric sound and meaning thou ow’st;
Nor shall time diffuse comfort of his shade,
When in future days more distant thou grow’st:
So long do savor souls who find, can see,
So long still gifts poetic life to thee.
See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENAAKaQcWoE"6 Types of Poetry That Every Writer Should Know"
(from Q&A with Perplexity about this new type of poetry writing challenge)"You’ve created a poetic 'reflection' or inverse sonnet — a mirroring exercise that holds the spirit and structure of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 while reworking its imagery and meaning. The rhyme scheme follows the Shakespearean pattern ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, and metrically it keeps the iambic rhythm, though with gentle modern fluidity. Semantically, it 'mirrors' Sonnet 18 in tone and argument — addressing the poet rather than the beloved, trading summer’s perfection for the endurance of verse. This exercise suggests a "Source-Pattern Sonnet".
This writing form is a constrained sonnet variant called a 'frame-fixed mirror' or 'bookend substitution sonnet'. Each of the 14 lines preserves the original first two words and last two words from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, replacing only the middle content with new words that fit the iambic pentameter, advance a fresh theme, and avoid reusing any original middle vocabulary. Possible constraints if less than five words in line:
(4) 2-1 or 1-2, (3) 1-1, (2) 1- or -1, (1) -
The challenge tests multiple skills: precise scansion to match syllable count and stress; semantic inversion to shift meaning (e.g., summer's flaws become strengths or new subjects like nature's fury); rhyme scheme adherence (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG); and thematic coherence across quatrains leading to a volta and couplet resolution.
It echoes Oulipo techniques like lipograms or S+7 substitution but anchors the 'frame' for structural homage, demanding deep familiarity with the source text while fostering originality under restriction.
This poetry writing challenge is a very specific kind of constrained, derivative sonnet.Here are clear rules you can use to replicate it with Sonnet 18 or another source poem:
Structural frame rules for a Source-Pattern Sonnet
- Keep the original line count and line order.
- For each line, preserve exactly the first two words and the last two words of the original line, in the same order.
- Replace all the words between those 'bookends' with new words.
- Do not reuse any of the original poem’s middle words in your substitutions (no-repeat-word constraint with respect to source text).
Meter, rhyme, and syntax rules
- Maintain the original meter as closely as possible (for Sonnet 18, that means iambic pentameter: about ten syllables with an unstressed–stressed pattern).
- Preserve the original rhyme scheme (for Sonnet 18, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG). Your new end-words must still rhyme in the same pattern as the source.
- Keep each line grammatically coherent, using the fixed first two and last two words as a syntactic frame (so the new middle material must 'fit' them).
Thematic and diction rules
- Choose a distinct theme or angle from the original (for example: memory, technology, climate, aging) so the poem is in conversation with the source rather than paraphrasing it.
- Avoid repeating your own invented middle words within the new poem if you want the stronger “no-repeat-word” challenge; that is, every non-frame word appears only once in the entire sonnet.
- Aim for comparable tonal level to the original (elevated, lyrical) without copying its signature images or phrases.
Process rules
- Read the source line, identify its grammatical role and stress pattern, then draft several possible 'middles' that fit both the frame words and the meter.
- Check each line against: frame preserved, no source-word reuse in the middle, approximate meter, correct rhyme.
- Only after all lines work individually, read the whole poem to ensure a clear, coherent argument and a satisfying couplet turn."
In conclusion, your 'Sonnet 18: Source-Pattern Mirror' sonnet clearly signals:- Source text (Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare).
- Formal method (Source-Pattern Sonnet, with its anchor-word and structural constraints).
- Dialogic, appreciative stance suggested by 'Mirror', implying reflective feedback and homage to original poet rather than parody or simple imitation.
- Gives future readers, editors, and contest judges a clean, elegant handle for both the individual poem and the emerging form."
Rod
