Sonnets are beautiful but too ridgid

“On the Sonnet” by John Keats

If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,
And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet
Fetter'd, in spite of pained loveliness,
Let us find, if we must be constrain'd,
Sandals more interwoven and complete
To fit the naked foot of Poetry:
Let us inspect the Lyre, and weigh the stress
Of every chord, and see what may be gain'd
By ear industrious, and attention meet;
Misers of sound and syllable, no less
Than Midas of his coinage, let us be
Jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown;
So, if we may not let the Muse be free,
She will be bound with garlands of her own.

                In “On the Sonnet” by John Keats, the rhyme scheme is not traditional.  It is a-b-c-a-b-d-c-a-b-c-d-e-f-g.  By playing with the rhyme scheme in a poem titled “On the Sonnet,” and keeping the form close to a sonnet, Keats accomplished two things in one piece.  He pays homage to the “loveliness” (3) of the form of the sonnet as well as challenging that its ridged structure denies a creative license to let the material dictate the form.  He points out the limitations of restricting a piece to a rigid form and to truly create works, form must be changed to suit the piece.  He is a writer speaking to not only readers of his time but also writers.  He himself is a poet living in a time where artistic expression was extremely limited to strict traditional forms and the material was about many ideas and concepts that are abstract and non-conformable.   If anything, these abstract ideas need more room to expand and be examined than the tight structure of the sonnet really allows. 

                Although John Keats appreciates the tradition of the “sonnet sweet” (2) and the beautiful expression or “pained loveliness” (3) that was birthed in the form of the sonnet, he argues the strict boundaries of the traditional form of the sonnet keep poetry confined.  The tradition of the sonnet, he implies, leaves little room for growth and expression in poetry.   Poetry was not meant to be restrained, like Andromeda who was shackled and bound to a rock, left to be swallowed by the sea.  Poetry by its very nature is creative and complex and should be innovative.  The English language and art of poetic expression is drastically limited by adhering to a strict form of rhyme scheme and meter.   To limit creative expression to a strict form, limits the poet from growing, changing and expressing ideas in new and interesting ways which is the very nature of poetry.  If poetry through the English language is not free to break the bounds of strict form it too will perish.  The analogy of finding “sandals more interwoven and complete/ to fit the naked foot of Poetry” (5, 6) is an interesting one.  Poets must be free to try no forms to express their views in the ever-changing world.    If we are “misers of sound and syllable,” (10) let our art meet a similar down fall to that of Midas.   If we don’t let the “muse be free,” (13) or the words be free to take their own form, the will be “bound by garlands of her own” or stifled.

                Keats strays from a traditional rhyme scheme of the sonnet while talking about the limitations of the sonnet and, while beautiful, stifles creativity and growth in art proving that beautiful poetry can be created while deviating from the strict boundaries set by the sonnet.  He does not discredit the sonnet by saying that it has not created beautiful timeless art, but does seem to express a desire for the limitations to be lifted to allow freedom of expression through form.