Anyone so inclined may write sonnets in praise of colours.
– Patricia Sloane, The Visual Nature of Colour
These poems are in the form of Petrarchan sonnets.
The sonnet developed out of the Renaissance, perfected by Petrarch, the father of humanism. The Petrarchan sonnet presents a problem or a tension in the octave and then offers a commentary or solution on the tension in the sestet, ideal for exploring the metaphysics of colour. The form was reintroduced and favoured by many of the Symbolist and Romantic poets of both England and France, such as Baudelaire and Mallarme. It is with symbol that the poetry attempts to reveal the essence.
That which is fundamentally human should once again be celebrated. Sonnets have historically been expressions of reverence for beauty and grace – and so, the collection represents a sort of love song to the spectrum.