The Sonnet Corona

"In this strange labyrinth, how shall I turn?

My thoughts push and pull in every which way,

Right or left, there is no difference born,

Each way will end in turbulent decay.

Yet still, I follow the winding paths here,

Tearing down the bricks I built myself with,

I, both the puppet and the puppeteer,

May be inclined to think of peace as myth.

In this maze I designed without intention,

I find myself always lost and losing,

And in pursuit of constant correction;

My fingertips the cause of my bruising.

Oh, Anxiety, ruler of her here,

Your kingdom will always have this prisoner."

PT1

- L. D. Humphrey

This poem is inspired by Lady Mary Wroth's Crown of Sonnets Dedicated to Love.

A crown of sonnets, or a sonnet corona, is a series of poems regarding one theme or addressed to a single person where the last line of each poem is in turn the first line of the next poem. The last line of the last poem is also the first line of the first poem, completing the crowning effect.

There are some who have attempted an elevated form of the sonnet corona called the heroic crown. This type of crown consists of fifteen crown sonnets. The first fourteen sonnets are normal, but the final sonnet is the first line from each poem in order. It is sometimes described as the "Mastersonnet".

I am in awe of what we can do with poetry sometimes.

Even though Wroth's series is not heroic, it is still amazing how each sonnet links to another. The thoughts and emotions flow from one to another, taking the reader on Wroth's fraught journey through love. The format itself is proof of humanity's creativity in structure and format.

My first crown poem shares the same first line as Wroth's first. What better way is there to start a series about unconstant love and mental health than with a maze? Indeed the format of sonnet coronas lends itself to feeling like a maze, which enables it to deliver the continuous shifting feelings involved. My series does not share the same theme of love, but it does share the feeling of pain, confusion, and entrapment that lost love and mental illness

encompass. I hope to illuminate this further as the series progresses.

For further reading on Lady Mary Wroth's sonnet corona, here is a link to all of the sonnets in this series from AllPoetry: https://allpoetry.com/A-Crown-of-Sonnets-Dedicated-to-Love