Sonnets for the Phantom

by Clever Lass

Shakespearean sonnets have very strict meter and rhyme schemes. Here is a sonnet I wrote for Erik, years ago after I first read the Leroux novel. Now added a new one, slightly lighter in tone, but with the same rhyme scheme and meter.

2. Chapter 2

His face deformed, his figure tall and thin,
The phantom lurks in evening-clothes below.
Ascending every night to hear the din:
Carlotta screeching high, Carolus low.

The opera is the phantom's final home,
Although he used to travel in his youth,
He now lives in the cellars like a gnome,
To hide his face, to mask the awful truth.

The phantom looks like death. Because of that,
He never shows himself to anyone.
He creeps around as silent as a cat,
Making stagehands blanch and dancers run.

... ...He waits within his box; he's not yet seen—
... ...But he has heard the singer named Christine.

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A/N: After a gap of more than 15 years, I decided to write another Phantom sonnet. This one's lighter, taking place much earlier in the story. And if anyone objects to my comparing Erik with a gnome, you'll have to take it up with PhantomPhluter, who helped me with this. Thanks, PhPh!