Sonnets

What is a Sonnet?  It is: a 14 line lyric poem  Lyric poem: short, personal poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the speaker  Traditionally, a love poem. Written in iambic pentameter  Iambic refers to the name of the foot, which is composed of a weaker syllable followed by an accented syllable. Pentameter refers to the number of feet in a line, in this case five. There are variations possible, but the basic line of a sonnet reads: Da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum with "da" being the weaker syllable and "dum" the accented syllable.

Origins  Originated among Sicilian court poets in 13 th century Influenced by love poetry of Provencal troubadours (singers)  Spread to Tuscany region of Italy Reached its highest expression in Petrarch's "Canzonieri," a sequence of love poems addressed to "Laura," his idealized beloved.  The best known styles of Sonnets are Petrarchan (Italian) and Shakespearean (English)

Petrarchan Sonnets  Consists of: An Octave (8 line stanza) rhyming abbaabba  The octave presents an idea or poses a problem A sestet (six line stanza) rhyming cdcdcd or cdecde  The sestet answers the problem; it may start with a “volta” – which means turning point The Italian sonnet form is commony called the Petrarchan sonnet, because Petrarch's "Canzonieri," a sequence of poems including 317 sonnets, established the sonnet as a major form in European poetry.

Petrarchan Sample: When I consider how my light is spent (a) Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, (b) And that one talent which is death to hide, (b) Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent (a) To serve therewith my Maker, and present (a) My true account, lest he returning chide; (b) "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" (b) I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent (a) That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need (c) Either man's work or his own gifts; who best (d) Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state (e) Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed (c) And post o'er land and ocean without rest; (d) They also serve who only stand and wait." (e) First 8 lines=octet Follow abbaabba rhyme scheme The octet presents a problem or question The sestet resolves the problem or question Last 6 lines=sestet Follow cdecde rhyme scheme in this case (may follow cdcdcd in others) Volta: (line 9) turn from problem to solution

Shakespearean Sonnets Consists of:  3 quatrains and a couplet A quatrain is simply a four line stanza  Alternate rhyme scheme per quatrain; abab cdcd efef A couplet is a two line stanza  Same rhyme scheme for couplet: gg  Here, content is allied to form, with each stanza introducing a separate idea, extending, playing off, or arguing with what went before, the turn often coming between the final quatrain and the couplet. NOTE: Shakespeare did not invent the English sonnet form, but he is recognized as its greatest practitioner; therefore, the English sonnet is commonly called the Shakespearean sonnet.

Sample Shakespearean Sonnet Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A Thou art more lovely and more temperate.B Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A And summer's lease hath all too short a date. B Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C And often is his gold complexion dimmed; D And every fair from fair sometime declines, C By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; D But thy eternal summer shall not fade,E Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, F Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, E When in eternal lines to time thou growest F So long as men can breathe or eyes can see G So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G First quatrain (abab) Couplet (gg) Second quatrain (cdcd) Third quatrain (efef) In sonnet 18, the first few lines reflect on the theme of his writings, and the last two lines bring the sonnet to a conclusion.

Sonnet 18 – Theme Structure Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A Thou art more lovely and more temperate. B Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A And summer's lease hath all too short a date. B Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C And often is his gold complexion dimmed; D And every fair from fair sometime declines, C By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; D But thy eternal summer shall not fade, E Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, F Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, E When in eternal lines to time thou growest F So long as men can breathe or eyes can see G So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G First quatrain: Shakespeare establishes the theme of comparing "thou" (or "you") to a summer's day, and why to do so is a bad idea. The metaphor is made by comparing his beloved to summer itself. Second quatrain: Shakespeare extends theme; explains why even the sun, supposed to be so great, gets obscured sometimes… why everything that's beautiful decays sooner or later. He shifts the metaphor: In the first quatrain, it was "summer" in general, and now he's comparing the sun and "every fair," every beautiful thing, to his beloved. Third quatrain: Here the argument takes a left turn with "But." Shakespeare says he won't compare his beloved to summer because summer dies — but she won't. He refers to the first two quatrains — her "eternal summer" won't fade, and she won't "lose possession" of the "fair" (the beauty) she possesses. So he keeps the metaphors going, but in a different direction. For good measure, he throws in a negative version of all the sunshine in this poem — the "shade" of death, which, evidently, his beloved won't have to worry about. Couplet: How is his beloved going to escape death? Answer- poem will keep her alive forever. This gives closure to the whole argument — it's a surprise.

Now, you write a sonnet You will follow it’s physical structure and its theme structure

OK- Write your own sonnet!  Directions It must be 14 lines Written in iambic pentameter (duh-DUH- duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh- DUH-duh-DUH).  Follow either Petrarchan or Shakespearean rhyme scheme ShakesPetrarchan A A BB A B BA C A DB CB D A E C F D EE FC G D GE Or CDCDCD More on structure on next slide!

Shakespearean Petrarchan  First quatrain: An exposition of the main theme and main metaphor.  Second quatrain: Theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.  Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but" (very often leading off the ninth line).  Couplet: Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image.  Petrarchan structure is simpler  First, the octave, which describe a problem  followed by a sestet, which gives the resolution to it. Typically, the ninth line creates a "turn" or volta which signals the move from proposition to resolution.

After Studying Sonnet Structure  Begin to write. Must be 14 lines Follow rhyme and thematic structure of either Shakespeare or Petrarchan type describe din earlier slides  If it’s easier for you, write a PARODY of a sonnet WHAT IS A PARODY? A work created to mock or poke fun at an original work, its subject, or author, by means of humorous or satiric imitation.  You follow the structure and rhyme style, but use humorous content

Sample Sonnet Parody Sonnet #18 (a parody) Shall I compare thee to a bale of hay? Thou art more dusty and far less neat. Rough winds do toss thy mop about, I'd say, Which looks far worse than hay a horse would eat. Sometime thy squinty eye looks into mine Through stringy, greasy hair that needs be trimm'd, And ne'er a horse had such a stench as thine, As though in stagnant sewers thou hast swimm'd. Thy disgusting image shall not fade; This my tortured mind and soul doth know. O, I should love to hit thee with a spade; And with that blow I hope that thou wouldst go. So long as I can breathe, my eyes can see, And I can run, I'll stay away from thee...