In response to Peter, I wonder whence this drive to rank poems. If I were to rank poems, I certainly would not do so based on novelty ("breaking new ground"). In any case, what constitutes breaking ground? Sam's poem is apparently so groundbreaking that some posts question whether it is a sonnet at all.
I suppose it is consistent with the spirit of a "bake-off" to choose winners, but based on the "entries" I have seen so far, I think Tim has done an superb job of choosing interesting and diverse sonnets, each of which is excellent in its own way. The diversity affords us interesting opportunities to engage in comparative analysis, but it makes rankings difficult -- and pointless anyway.
But I can't stand olympic figure skating because I find the rankings so off-putting (all scandals aside), so perhaps my aversion is more general.
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