Read and reread a sonnet by William Shakespeare or another poet.
Count the syllables of the sonnet lines. The number is always 10.
Recite the lines out loud, noticing that they seem to limp or embody a kind of drum beat. That is the iambic meter. "Iambic pentameter" means 10 syllables of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.
Write the sonnet's rhyme scheme on paper. The final syllable of of the first line rhymes with that of the third line. The final syllable of line two rhymes with that of line four. When syllables match like that, they can be written as ABAB. Line five matches line seven, and line six matches line eight, which can be written as CDCD.
Write the rhyme scheme of a whole Shakespearean or other poet's sonnet. It is ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG.
Develop an idea related to a feeling of love.
Write some pairs of rhymes you will use in your sonnet to express that idea.
Write the first four lines of the sonnet in the iambic meter of unstressed then stressed syllables. Use only 10 syllables per line, and ensure that the first four lines rhyme ABAB.
Write two more pairs of lines for the next four lines of the sonnet. Each line must be 10 syllables long in the limping unstressed/stressed beat, with the lines rhyming as CDCD.
Think of a new way to look at the poem's theme as you write the next four lines with the rhyme scheme EFEF. Use the unstressed/stressed rhythm of 10 syllables. Give an unexpected twist to your idea in these four lines.
Write a final couplet with two new rhyming words, GG. This final couplet sums up and resolves the problems expressed in the sonnet's preceding lines.