--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't beat a good sonnet, and you can…" description: "\"You can't beat a good sonnet, and you can write a sonnet without being married to the damned thing.\" — Bonnie Jo Campbell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_beats_you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can_1746090.png" --- # You can't beat a good sonnet, and you can write a sonnet… ![“You can't beat a good sonnet, and you can write a sonnet without being married to the damned thing.” quote by Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_beats_you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can_1746090.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_beats_you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can_1746090.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_beats_you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can_1746090.png) > “You can't beat a good sonnet, and you can write a sonnet without being married to the damned thing.” [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sonnet can be powerful even if you’re not devoted to it; you can craft one without obsession. **In simple terms:** A sonnet can be effective without obsession. Key Takeaway Write with skill, not fixation. Themes creativity literature craftsmanship Mood reflective inspired Type literary artistic When to use this quote - writing poetry - literary analysis - creative workshops Key Concepts Poetry artistic discipline Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance technique with feeling? - What does “good” mean in poetry? A Different Perspective A sonnet’s impact may still depend on emotional depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-married/) [Good Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-son/) [Sonnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sonnet/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“However, he wrote some verses on her, and very pretty they were.” “And so ended his affection,” said Elizabeth impatiently. “There has been many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/however-he-wrote-some-verses-on-her-and-very-pretty-they-were-and-so/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“...I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!" "I have been used to consider poetry as the food of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-wonder-who-first-discovered-the-efficacy-of-poetry-in-driving-away-2/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I have been used to consider poetry as "the food of love" said Darcy. "Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-been-used-to-consider-poetry-as-the-food-of-love-said-darcy-of/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-re-given-the-form-but-you-have-to-write-the-sonnet-yourself-what/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [To me there's no creativity without boundaries. If you're gonna write a sonnet, it's 14 lines, so it's solving the problem within the container.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorne-michaels/to-me-there-s-no-creativity-without-boundaries-if-you-re-gonna-write/) [Lorne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorne-michaels/) > [A story is a story is a story. The only difference is in the techniques you bring to bear. There are always limitations on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/a-story-is-a-story-is-a-story-the-only-difference-is-in-the/) [J. Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom within it? Yes. Mrs. Whatsit said. You're given the form,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-mean-you-re-comparing-our-lives-to-a-sonnet-a-strict-form-but/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [The idea that a student can write a sonnet or a novel without having a sound understanding about its history, and where it fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-royle/the-idea-that-a-student-can-write-a-sonnet-or-a-novel-without-having/) [Nicholas Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-royle/) > [Creativity is the result of a struggle between vitality and form. As anyone who has tried to write a sonnet or scan poetry, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/creativity-is-the-result-of-a-struggle-between-vitality-and-form-as/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“You are given the form, but you must write the sonnet for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-are-given-the-form-but-you-must-write-the-sonnet-for-yourself/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet…There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That’s a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/in-your-language-you-have-a-form-of-poetry-called-the-sonnet-there/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/life-with-its-rules-its-obligations-and-its-freedoms-is-like-a-sonnet/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/there-is-no-objection-to-the-proposal-in-order-to-learn-to-be-a-poet/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [“And so ended his affection," said Elizabeth impatiently. "There has been many a one, I fancy, overcome in the same way. I wonder who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/and-so-ended-his-affection-said-elizabeth-impatiently-there-has-been/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“I will not make a sonnet from Each little private martyrdom; Nor out of love left dead with time Construe a stanza or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-auslander/i-will-not-make-a-sonnet-from-each-little-private-martyrdom-nor-out/) Joseph Auslander ## More by Bonnie Jo Campbell > [In fact, when I finally realized I was really going to write, when I was about thirty-four, I was working on my Ph.D. in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/in-fact-when-i-finally-realized-i-was-really-going-to-write-when-i/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [I'm of the people in the bar and the people in my stories. They are my tribe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-m-of-the-people-in-the-bar-and-the-people-in-my-stories-they-are-my/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [That's where I live, a junkyard in a neighborhood of junkyards. We have three tractors from the 1940s and '50s, several old pickup trucks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/that-s-where-i-live-a-junkyard-in-a-neighborhood-of-junkyards-we-have/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [A Life in Men is a joyful, ambitious novel that is also an adventure traversing three continents, as well as a meditation on love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/a-life-in-men-is-a-joyful-ambitious-novel-that-is-also-an-adventure/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [People seem to want to read more nonfiction than fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/people-seem-to-want-to-read-more-nonfiction-than-fiction/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Eighty percent of all novels are bought by women, or so I've heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/eighty-percent-of-all-novels-are-bought-by-women-or-so-i-ve-heard/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Any of us who listen to the news or listen to stories our neighbors tell are accustomed to violence. We have to decide then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/any-of-us-who-listen-to-the-news-or-listen-to-stories-our-neighbors/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [In a regular class I don't focus on the form, but I think that focus is helpful for brainstorming and coming up with ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/in-a-regular-class-i-don-t-focus-on-the-form-but-i-think-that-focus/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [My donkeys are Jack and Don Quixote. They're very smart, very cautious. Much of what people consider stubbornness in donkeys is actually cautiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/my-donkeys-are-jack-and-don-quixote-they-re-very-smart-very-cautious/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Cocoa-buttered girls were stretched out on the public beach in apparently random alignments, but maybe if a weather satellite zoomed in on one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/cocoa-buttered-girls-were-stretched-out-on-the-public-beach-in/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [I think back when I was kind of a crappy writer, I really did know my time was better spent working and having adventures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/i-think-back-when-i-was-kind-of-a-crappy-writer-i-really-did-know-my/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [The great thing about fiction is that I don't have to settle on an answer to any troubling question, or even a solution. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/the-great-thing-about-fiction-is-that-i-don-t-have-to-settle-on-an/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [Writing is so wrapped up in ego, but with math one is just trying to get it right, although you're often wrong. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/writing-is-so-wrapped-up-in-ego-but-with-math-one-is-just-trying-to/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [“She hoped Smoke was wrong about people being unknowable. She hoped that she could crack herself open like a nut and know herself, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/she-hoped-smoke-was-wrong-about-people-being-unknowable-she-hoped/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [That was a mistake, I guess, going out to California. They have these things called guidance counselors in high school. They drink a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/that-was-a-mistake-i-guess-going-out-to-california-they-have-these/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) [Explore all 71 Bonnie Jo Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) ## More Beats quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [If you don't like club beats take a HIT OF E and you will love the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/if-you-don-t-like-club-beats-take-a-hit-of-e-and-you-will-love-the/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Every pitcher can beat you, it doesn't matter how good you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/every-pitcher-can-beat-you-it-doesn-t-matter-how-good-you-are/) [Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [Practice to beat the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-bennett/practice-to-beat-the-best/) [Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/) > [I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. We have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-donovan/i-don-t-know-about-the-rest-of-the-world-but-i-know-in-our-region/) [Landon Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/landon-donovan/) > [Grand business plans are all very well, but nothing beats dipping your toe in the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-bilimoria-karan-bilimoria/grand-business-plans-are-all-very-well-but-nothing-beats-dipping-your/) Baron Bilimoria Karan Bilimoria > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Imagine if you were a drummer, and you accidentally picked up two magic wands instead of sticks. 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They hop around so merrily outside my window, looking so innocent. but I know that secretly, they're watching my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-like-small-birds-they-hop-around-so-merrily-outside-my-window/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 3,311 Beats quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't beat a good sonnet, and you can write a sonnet without being married to the damned thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bonnie Jo Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can-write-a-sonnet-without-being/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beats" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can-write-a-sonnet-without-being/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_beats_you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can_1746090.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_beats_you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can_1746090.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/891/bonnie-jo-campbell-9521_beats_you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can_1746090.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't beat a good sonnet, and you can write a sonnet without being married to the damned thing.” — Bonnie Jo Campbell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bonnie Jo Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't beat a good sonnet,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can-write-a-sonnet-without-being/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/you-can-t-beat-a-good-sonnet-and-you-can-write-a-sonnet-without-being/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```