There is no question but that the act of writing sonnets forces one to advance one’s education.  Particularly in the liberal Arts.  Beyond the mechanics of the form itself, I find myself delving into all manner of subjects in greater detail that I would otherwise have need to do.  This would make little difference where involved, subjects about which I have quite a lot of curiosity.  However on other subjects, it makes quite a difference.

Moreover, the process of such discovery tends to pique ones curiosity to such a degree as might produce quite a large pile of dead cats.

One feather in my cap:

I have discovered that my youthful forays into sonnet reading, and subsequently, sonnet writing, have educated me in more ways than I might have expected at a more tender age.  My early education consisted simply of reading sonnets.  Nothing more.  And still, I managed to divine all of the necessary mechanics as well as more subtle elements of the form–the “Volta,” for example.  Although I had no idea of the existence of the terms for such things until much, much later; still I acquired a proper understanding of their function. 

So with that, I pat my younger self upon his back.