Poetry in Motion Poems

The Spenserian Sonnet and Iambic Pentameter

Utilitarian Beauty: A Riddle

The beautiful black and yellow handle,
Is placed above its shiny silver shaft,
And reflecting the light of a candle,
A tribute to the toolmakers craft.

You can use it to make a wooden raft,
If you possess a hundred thousand screws,
Or you can use it to seal a cold draft,
By permanently shutting up the flews.

A tool used by a multitude of crews,
It comes in a variety of heads,
A tool that excites a poet’s muse,
When used to open a bottle of meds.

This all purpose tool has a simple name,
That belies a screwdriver’s worldwide fame.

Line Count: 14
Form: The Spenserian Sonnet and Iambic Pentameter – The Spenserian Sonnet was created by Edmund Spenser a 16th century English poet. It is composed of three quantrains and a closing couplet. Iambic Pentameter is most commonly used in the Spenserian sonnet and consists of 10 syllables per line made up of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The rhyme scheme is abab bcbc cdcd ee. Lines 2 and 4 of the first stanza rhyme with lines 1 and 2 of the second. Lines 2 and 4 of the second stanza rhyme with lines 1 and 2 of the third. The fourth stanza is a rhyming couplet.