The Facebook Sonnet: Denying Reality, Honoring Disconnection

Sonnets, like other forms of poetry, can be about a variety of topics such as love, people, objects, and so on. Sonnets consist of fourteen lines, contain iambic pentameter, and have rhyme. It is utterly amazing how writers can write about simple things and get audiences to become engaged. When writing a sonnet, writers must be sure that they are focused on a single idea so that readers do not get lost. The Facebook Sonnet by Sherman Alexie speaks to those who use social media constantly. Facebook is used by billions and billions of people worldwide; its mission statement is “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” However, over the years, Facebook has been utilized in ways that are unhealthy. Through the use of irony and rhyme, The Facebook Sonnet gives people the reality of what social media truly represents, which is that Facebook is viewed as this sacred place people can go to for anything that they are dealing with in their lives.

To begin with, readers should read the whole poem to understand how the speaker feels about the topic. The topic is Facebook, and it is evident that the speaker believes Facebook is a waste of time. “Let church.com become our church” (12). The speaker is demonstrating irony in this line. It could be that the speaker believes it is depressing how people rely on the internet for everything instead of experiencing the real things. Nowadays, instead of going to church to find peace or help, people prefer posting about their personal problems on social media. The speaker is saying this in a tone that is making fun of those who rely on social media because he believes it is funny that people believe social media is a friend of theirs when the reality is that social media is not meant to be taken as an escape from issues. “Welcome to past friends And lovers, however kind or cruel (2-3). This is another way of just saying people did not like each other in person, but they are friendly online. They care more about having thousands of friends on Facebook even if there is no mutual likeness.

In addition to irony, The Facebook Sonnet also utilizes rhyme. Poetry that contains rhyme can create a sense of pleasure for readers and it also makes readers become engaged in what they are reading. “Let fame And shame intertwine” (9-10) Fame is popularity, it is like getting an honor award or getting positive attention. Shame, on the other hand, means having no dignity or respect, it is not having any moral values. Although both the words shame and fame rhyme, they are complete opposites. When the speaker says these two things intertwine, what he is implying is that people who use Facebook have the need to do shameful things to get the attention they want. Nowadays people are going to the extreme for views to get recognition, and the speaker views this as disgraceful because it shows that people are not willing to flourish, and they confuse shame with fame. The use of rhyme in this poem can also create images in the minds of readers. When they read the words fame and shame together, they have two different images because both words have different meanings. “Let’s sign up, sign in, and confess Here at the altar of loneliness” (13-14). The words here that have rhyme are confess and loneliness; the root word fess means to recognize or acknowledge, and the suffix ness is what describes the state or quality of something. Trusting people nowadays can be risky. The speaker, when saying this line, is referring to the fact that today people depend on social media to confess their problems, but social media does not make people feel connected, it makes them feel like they are alone. Altar of loneliness refers to Facebook, the altar or holy table is Facebook. This line in another way is saying that people view Facebook as something that will help them heal, but the fact is that confessing or expressing what they want on social media does not lead to making a connection, all they are doing is just posting their problems on Facebook for other people who would not even take the time to read what they post about. Just because Facebook says someone has five-hundred friends, it does not mean they are truly friends, and those five-hundred friends will not take the time to ask what is wrong, they will just keep scrolling through their newsfeed. While fame and shame rhyme but are opposites, the words confess and loneliness while also having rhyme, are two words that do not want to be connected. It is not easy for human beings to admit that they feel isolated because they do not want to feel like they are a disturbance, therefore they decide to just keep to themselves. This sonnet helps readers understand that words that rhyme do not necessarily have to mean the same thing or have the same connection; what matters is that the rhymes being used can give readers a clear idea of what the message is all about.

In essence, the use of irony and rhyme in The Facebook Sonnet helps readers have a clear understanding of what the writer or speaker is trying to convey in a sonnet. Irony in this sonnet makes readers be aware of what the reality of Facebook is. Rhyme is what makes audiences become interested in what they are reading because it can make a poem become so powerful or deep. It is clear, without a doubt, that The Facebook Sonnet is a sonnet that is profound and unforgettable.