Sonnets are traditionally written as a single stanza of 14 lines, but there are notable exceptions where poets break them into multiple stanzas—Byron’s two-stanza sonnet, Milton’s caudate sonnet in three parts, and modern experimental forms like the Beymorlin sonnet in four stanzas. The Meredithian sonnet, on the other hand, is a fascinating extension: George Meredith’s sequence Modern Love (1862) uses 16-line sonnets instead of the traditional 14.

This ode deliberately runs to 15 lines, echoing Shakespeare’s anomalous Sonnet 99.

The occasional over- and under-runs of syllable counts follow the freer pivots of Spenser, who preceded Shakespeare and bent metre to suit thought rather than rule.

The title’s misspelling of Dyslecia is intentional satire, underscored by the correct spelling dyslexia within the poem itself—a jab at the common misconception, especially among those who weaponise the word yet cannot even spell it.

Famous people with dyslexia: Helen Hunt, Gavin Newsome