I strongly believe that women should always have all of the spotlight when it comes to exposing their struggles and woes caused by long-standing patriarchal traditions and worldviews. However, it’s always bothered me as a believer—angered me, even—when religious leaders talk down to women from behind the pulpit, and I’d be damned if I said nothing about it. For today’s composition breakdown, I bring you my poetic take on Bible-based misogyny.
Here’s my own voiceover for the poem—human-made, not AI-generated:
Poem text.
I. Behind the pulpit, there the pastor spoke
about the Garden—all the Lord had made.
The people listened quietly and swayed
until he raised his voice to cast a joke.
“As women always do,” he dared provoke,
“the wife of Adam did as God forbade,
and Adam, dragged to fix the mess she’d made,
was left to work for life1 while being broke!”
The men alone, as always, loudly cheered.
Beside her husband, a woman scoffed.
“I’m not okay with this,” she said below
her breath. “He does it all the time! It’s weird.”
Her husband turned and said as if he coughed,
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Let it go.”
II. Her father, brothers, husband, and her son
arrived for dinner right on Tuesday night.
It was a multitude to feed or spite,
but serving them she was the only one.
“You’ll be a proper woman once you’ve done
the dishes,” said her brother, twice her height
and doing nothing then to be polite.
“It’s that or staying single. Wife or nun!”
Amelia, putting forks and platters down,
replied to him with wrath across her frown,
“I’m not a slave!” “The Bible says you are.
At home is where you work.2 You’re so bizarre.”
Her father spoke before his daughter’s woe,
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Let it go.”
III. On Thursday afternoon, she thought of this
while buying groceries and birthday cake.
She wore a summer dress for comfort’s sake,
yet what she heard she couldn’t just dismiss.
“You ought to dress as God commands it, miss,”
a man suggested.3 “Some would rather take
what’s on display, however true or fake.”
She turned to see a smile become abyss.
“I’m not a toy!” She pushed him with a blow.
The man recoiled, a bruise around his eye.
“You witch,” he spat. “Your legs and shoulders show.
It’s not my fault you women all are slow.”
Until he’d left, she heard a demon sigh,
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Let it go.”
IV. When Sunday service came, her tears were shed.
She took a notebook, put her words to pen,
returned to church, and listened once again.
“As women always do,” the pastor said,
but then Amelia rose to speak instead.
“We’re judged the most to hide the sins of men!”
She shouted forth, expecting no amen.
The congregation stared in muted dread.
“A woman ought to never speak4 or frown.
Because of you, the Bible teaches so!”
The people laughed. She let her anger grow.
Behind the pulpit, there he stood—a clown—
declaring once anew while looking down,
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Don’t you know?”
The Petrarchan Sonnet.
Thankfully, this one isn’t French. Francesco di Petracco—quite obviously an Italian writer whose name ended up anglicized as Francis Petrarch—serves as the namesake of this form as well as its most prominent author.5 It’s older than the Shakespearean variant though still less popular. While similar, however, the Petrarchan has several attributes regarding structure and composition that vastly distinguish it from its younger brother.
Petrarchan sonnets, like Shakespeareans, consist of fourteen lines, though instead of three quatrains6 and a couplet,7 Petrarchans are composed of one octave and a sestet, of eight and six lines respectively.
Petrarchan rhyme scheme.
The octave must always have a ABBAABBA rhyme scheme, and it serves as the setup of the poem.
Behind the pulpit, there the pastor spoke (A)
about the Garden—all the Lord had made. (B)
The people listened quietly and swayed (B)
until he raised his voice to cast a joke. (A)
“As women always do,” he dared provoke, (A)
“the wife of Adam did as God forbade, (B)
and Adam, dragged to fix the mess she’d made, (B)
was left to work for life while being broke!” (A)
When it comes to the sestet, on the other hand, the scheme has many known variants that are all equally valid—in case you were wondering why my four sestets had differing schemes among them. The most common sestet rhyme scheme across Petrarch’s own work is CDECDE.
The men alone, as always, loudly cheered. (C)
Beside her husband, a woman scoffed. (D)
“I’m not okay with this,” she said below (E)
her breath. “He does it all the time! It’s weird.” (C)
Her husband turned and said as if he coughed, (D)
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Let it go.” (E)
Petrarch also tended to use a much simpler CDCDCD rhyme scheme. Because many of his sonnets have been reimagined and rearranged to fit schemes in English translations, one may yet encounter an infinity of possible sestet patterns. I personally used CCDDEE, CDCCDC, and CDDCCD for Patriarchy.
CCDDEE scheme.
Amelia, putting forks and platters down, (C)
replied to him with wrath across her frown, (C)
“I’m not a slave!” “The Bible says you are. (D)
At home is where you work. You’re so bizarre.” (D)
Her father spoke before his daughter’s woe, (E)
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Let it go.” (E)
CDCCDC scheme.
“I’m not a toy!” She pushed him with a blow. (C)
The man recoiled, a bruise around his eye. (D)
“You witch,” he spat. “Your legs and shoulders show. (C)
It’s not my fault you women all are slow.” (C)
Until he’d left, she heard a demon sigh, (D)
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Let it go.” (C)
CDDCCD scheme.
“A woman ought to never speak or frown. (C)
Because of you, the Bible teaches so!” (D)
The people laughed. She let her anger grow. (D)
Behind the pulpit, there he stood—a clown— (C)
declaring once anew while looking down, (C)
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Don’t you know?” (D)
There’s a world of choices to be made regarding the sestet’s rhyme scheme, so why not come up with something original for your own poem?
Petrarchan narrative structure.
More than just a sonnet with a rather spicier rhyme scheme, the Petrarchan follows a specific narrative structure. The octave sets up a problem or situation that is meant to be resolved in the sestet portion of the poem. The octave is, in turn, divided into the setting and the conflict by its halving quatrains.
Setting.
Her father, brothers, husband, and her son
arrived for dinner right on Tuesday night.
It was a multitude to feed or spite,
but serving them she was the only one.
Conflict.
“You’ll be a proper woman once you’ve done
the dishes,” said her brother, twice her height
and doing nothing then to be polite.
“It’s that or staying single. Wife or nun!”
Resolution.
Amelia, putting forks and platters down,
replied to him with wrath across her frown,
“I’m not a slave!” “The Bible says you are.
At home is where you work. You’re so bizarre.”
Her father spoke before his daughter’s woe,
“It’s just a joke, Amelia. Let it go.”
Some scatterbrains will mention a volta or turn/twist as an integral part of the Petrarchan. However, this is simply the transition from conflict to resolution which typically happens during the first one or two lines of the sestet.
Don’t let pretentious authors make things sound more complicated than they actually are.
Innovate upon it!
As with all previously explored forms, I am not here to police you about how you write and what decisions you make. You can make lines vary in syllable count, ditch the rhymes, change the number of lines per stanza, or anything else you want to do. The Petrarchan is a very old form that’s been heavily modified for seven centuries by now anyway. All I intend on this publication is to give you a starting point from which to find your identity as a writer.
I hope you liked it, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Genesis 3:17-19. “And to the man he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, «You shall not eat of it,» cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” NRSVUE
Titus 2:5. “To be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.” NRSVUE
1 Timothy 2:9-10. “Also that the women should dress themselves in moderate clothing with reverence and self-control, not with their hair braided or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes.” NRSVUE
1 Corinthians 14:34. “Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but should be subordinate, as the law also says.” NRSVUE
“Petrarchan Sonnet: Rhyme Scheme, Format & Example Poems”. study.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
Four-line stanza.
Two-line stanza.
What a fantastic message to wrap up within the beauty of poetry. Love the live reading!
Great work!!! I loved listening to you read it too 🖤🔥