Materials for a critique of the most famous form of poetry of Italian origin
A sonnet by Robert Gernhardt is the material for a criticism of the most famous poem form of Italian origin . It is an ironic invective of the speaker against sonnets.
Content and structure
In the sonnet, the speaker's authority insults both the poem form itself and the authors who write the sonnets.
In the first stanza the author begins by stating that he thinks sonnets shitty (v. 1) and expresses his aversion to sonnets and their strictness of form. In the second he criticizes authors who write sonnets even in modern times. In the third he states that just knowing that there are still people who write sonnets can boil up anger in him. In the last stanza he expresses his lack of understanding for such people and ends with the renewed statement that he thinks sonnets shitty (v.14).
A well thought-out structure can be seen from the content alone. So the first and last verses are similar. This ring-shaped arrangement can also be seen in parts in the fact that the anger and its trigger - the authors of sonnets - are flanked at the core of the poem by the first and last verses. The climax of his anger can be found especially in the first trio .
Linguistic-formal analysis
Gernhardt's sonnet consists of four stanzas, which are divided into first two quartets and then two thirds , which are rhythmized in a five- lever iambus. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efe faa , i.e. a dominant cross rhyme that is broken with a pair of rhymes at the end. This structure corresponds most closely to the Shakespearian type of sonnets, whereby instead of three qaurtets with a trio, the structure is divided into two quartets and two trios.
The word field of the poem is characterized by vulgarisms (e.g. "shit" v. 1, "shit" v. 5, "wanking" v. 10). This already indicates a low level of language that the author is aiming at. In addition, colloquial expressions (e.g. "Macker" v. 11, "I don't tick it" v. 12), the sentence fragment in verse 5 and the repair in v. 6 or the many apocopied vowels (cf. V. 1,8,12) conclude that Gernhardt wants to create the impression of a flowing poem that is not perceived as artificial. The speaker does not speak as planned, but spontaneously out of their anger.
interpretation
It is noticeable that the title and poem are in tension with one another. The irony evident here is intended to emphasize the author's satirical intent. Gernhardt does not try to criticize sonnets or their authors, but rather uses the strictness of form to show that it can appear natural when used skillfully.
The humorous and ironic approach creates a stronger bond between the poem and the recipient. The tension that exists between the criticized and the presentation (cf. v. 2) is thus dissolved. The reader of the poem is encouraged to reflect on the statements of the speaker and can only conclude that sonnets are not as stiff as the speaker claims.
See also
literature
expenditure
Gernhardt, Robert: Wörtersee. Poems and picture stories. Frankfurt / M .: Two thousand and one 1981.
Secondary literature
Gernhardt, Robert: Mr. Gernhardt, why do you write poetry? That is a long story. In: RG: rhyme and time. Poems. Stuttgart: Reclam 1990, pp. 109-116. Braak / Neubauer: Poetics in Key Words, Stuttgart, 2001