Crown of sonnets
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A crown of sonnets or sonnet corona is a sequence of sonnets, usually addressed to some one person, and/or concerned with a single theme.
Each of the sonnets explores one aspect of the theme, and is linked to the preceding and succeeding sonnets by repeating the final line of the preceding sonnet as its first line, and by having its final line be the first line of the succeeding sonnet.
With seven sonnets, the first line of the first sonnet is repeated as the final line of the final sonnet, thereby bringing the sequence to a close. Famous examples include John Donne's Corona (It. "crown") and Lady Mary Wroth's A Crown of Sonnets Dedicated to Love.
An advanced form of Crown or Corona of Sonnets is also called a sonnet redoublé or heroic crown, comprising fifteen sonnets, where the sonnets are linked as described above, but the final binding sonnet is made up of all the first lines of the preceding fourteen, in order. Jaroslav Seifert wrote a sentimental Wreath of Sonnets in this form, about Prague, an authorised translation of which exists, by Jan Křesadlo, who also composed his own emigre riposte in the same format, as well as writing several other sonnet cycles.
Bulgarian poet Venko Markovski wrote and published more than 100 crown of sonnets, which also contained acrostics, dedicated to different historical figures.
The children's book "A Wreath for Emmett Till" by Marilyn Nelson also follows the form of a heroic crown of sonnets.[1] Another well known and frequent author of contemporary sonnet crowns is Marilyn Hacker. Notable crowns have recently been published by Linda Beirds, Andrea Carter Brown, Robert Darling, Moira Egan, Jenny Factor, Andrei Krylov, Julie Fay, Marie Ponsot, Marilyn Taylor, and Kathrine Varnes.
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[edit] External links
- Corona of sonnets described on Guide to Verse forms
- Jan Křesadlo translation of Seifert's Wreath of Sonnets with link to the translator's Countergarland, in Czech, and structured English translation.
- A sonnet redoublé On Women by Jan Křesadlo
- The Gift a sonnet redoublé by Seanan McGuire and Batya Wittenberg
- A collaborative sonnet crown What Lips
