That's a good question about rhyme schemes in sonnets. It's something that's bothered me a bit; I tend to think we have to rememeber why we like formal verse (and I guess most people who visit Eratosphere do like f.v.) in order to answer it. We like it - or I like it and I guess I'm not atypical - it because of its aesthetic effects, because form gives us a particular kind of insight, satsifaction and sheer pleasure. If those effects can be achieved by adjusting rules somewhat then I'd say fine. We sould remember maybe that the Shakespearian rhyme scheme for a sonnet was once an innovation, but it's one we are easy with now, and in fact it's not simply a substitute for the Italian scheme, it produces its own effects and aesthetic which differ from the Italian scheme's. This is emphatically not opening the door to every incompetent poet saying "well it seemed right to me" for every clunking metrical mess he/she can come up with. Chess is still recognizably chess and has to be be played by rules, even though they are different now from what they were when the game evolved in India: you can play rugby union, rugby league or American football, all recognizably related, but all with their own somewhat different rules. There have to be rules if we're to have the aesthetic that goes with having rules (that's obvious and a tautology) but they don't always have to be exactly the smae rules.
The relative paucity of rhymes in English means it makes sense to relax rhyme rules in a form taken from Italian (which is very rich in rhymes compared to English). However, I must admit there is still a special joy for me in reading a true Italian sonnet (abbaabba in the octave) that really works well in English, and there's a special joy too in trying to write one.
I hope this helps. Dick.
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