The Deconstructed Sonnet Prompt

It's Adam's birthday, so instead of coming up with a new prompt, he's stealing one from the 30/30 Prompt Blog (link is in the right hand column of the page).

Create a deconstructed sonnet:

1. Write a sonnet. In a nutshell, a sonnet is a 14-line poem made of 3 individual 4-line stanzas with alternating rhyme, and concluding with a rhyming couplet (read: 2-line stanza).  Additionally, every line should be written in pentameter, or be 10-syllables long.  The visual breakdown for this (with rhyme scheme indicated by letters) is below.   If you want to cheat, you can print this out and use it as a fill-in-the-blanks-type worksheet.
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
E
F
G
G

2. Go outside and walk around the block.  The goal of this is not to get exterior inspiration, but to clear your head of the writing that has just happened.

3. Return to your sonnet.

4. Rewrite/retype your sonnet as a single paragraph, minus the line breaks and punctuation.  Do NOT use this as a chance to edit.  Everything but the appearance of the lines on the page should be exactly the same.

5. Reread the poem.

6. Cross out/erase/delete any words that don’t serve a purpose/only serve as filler/were only stuck in to preserve the rhyme.

7. Seek out any nonspecific pronouns (i.e. he, she, it, they) and replace them with specific words or phrases that give them an identity.  You do not have to come completely clean about the source of every single line, but make sure that whatever nickname you use for the person/place/thing still has a definite metaphorical tie to the party that inspired it.

8. Reread the poem.

9. If the piece (as it is) seems to have a singular theme developing, identify it and get rid of any lines, words, or stanzas that distract from the reader’s perception of it.  If it has multiple themes emerging, pick the one that can be expanded/clarified most easily, and get rid of any lines, words, or stanzas that don’t concern it.

10. If the theme you chose feels undeveloped, expand it, but in a disciplined manner: only extend metaphors until they become clear. Do NOT overexplain. Do NOT get flowery.  Clarification is the name of the game here.

11. Rewrite/retype the poem, with the edits from Steps 9 & 10, adding in punctuation as necessary.