Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Introducing the Poem Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Personal or Persona? Scholars are unsure whether real-life individuals lie behind the characters in these poems. Some believe that the speaker is not Shakespeare himself but rather a persona, or character, he invented. In fact it is typically not safe to assume that the author is the same as the speaker or narrator, of a poem

A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually about love. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Literary Skills Focus: Sonnet The English sonnet consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a couplet (a pair of rhyming lines) at the end. Quatrain 1 Quatrain 2 Quatrain 3 Final Couplet

In an English sonnet Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Literary Skills Focus: Sonnet the three quatrains often express related ideas or examples the couplet sums up the poet’s conclusion or message The English sonnet is also called the Shakespearean sonnet—not because Shakespeare invented the form, but because he perfected it.

As you read “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” notice Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Literary Skills Focus: Sonnet where each quatrain begins and ends which words rhyme in the quatrains how the couplet is used to sum up the message Note how the speaker expresses passionate feelings within the strictness of this form—not an easy task.

Steps to help unlock a poem’s meaning: pay attention to grammar, syntax and diction.. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Poem 1.Look for punctuation that tells where sentences— and complete thoughts—begin and end. And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; start of a new sentence end of a complete thought

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Poem 2.Syntax: In your mind, rearrange inverted sentences, phrases, and words by placing subjects, verbs, and complements in the traditional order. too hot the eye of heaven shines Original Order the eye of heaven shines too hot Usual Order Steps to help unlock a poem’s meaning: syntax is the order of words in a sentence

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Poem 3.Finally, translate: paraphrase, or restate in your own words, each line of the poem to ensure that you understand it. And often is his gold complexion dimmed Original Wording The sun often gets hidden by clouds. Paraphrase Steps to help unlock a poem’s meaning

Shakespeare uses beautiful, affecting imagery to convey his points in this sonnet. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer What does each image contribute to the sonnet? As you read, write down images and the senses to which they appeal. Find It in Your Reading

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Reading Skills Focus: Reading a Poem Today’s chart: along with noting the imagery, you will paraphrase each section of poem As you re-read Shakespeare’s sonnet, think how you might rephrase the section so the syntax is more understandable, placing words in the usual order. Quatrain 1 Should I compare you to a day during the summer? Quatrain 2 Quatrain 3 Couplet

Your Turn “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” by William Shakespeare Poem SectionParaphrase/ translation into everyday language Most powerful imagery in section Quatrain 1 Quatrain 2 Quatrain 3 Couplet What is the tone? What is the mood? 10-sentence minimum response with at least one direct quote from the poem and one example from life: in this poem, Shakespeare asserts that art can immortalize someone. Do you agree? Why/why not?

Noting Line Breaks in Poetry When you quote through more than one line, you illustrate that you do so by showing the line breaks with slashes. –The diction he uses is old school. When he says, “I resisted /The sharp temptation/To save them somewhere” he speaks much differently from today’s normal (Neruda 47-49).

Parenthetical References Only include the line number in the parenthetical citation. Be sure to make clear the author and the poem in your sentence. –Neruda’s diction suits a traditional ode. When he uses words like “decrepit, sacred, and magnificent,” he is relating back to traditional odes with this heavy imagery (39, 55, 74). If the author is not named in the sentence, then be sure to name him or her in the parenthetical. –The diction connotes the power of the socks with the imagery of “two long sharks,” and maybe even violence with the idea of them being “shot through by one golden thread” (Neruda 21-24).

Citing Your Sources: Matching in-text citations to the Works Cited page The correct citation for Neruda’s poem “Ode to My Socks” from your literature book is as follows: Remember all entries in the Works Cited page are alphabetized Neruda, Pablo. “Ode to My Socks.” Literature and Language Arts: Fourth Edition. Eds. Kylene Beers et.al. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, Print. --notice how the book title is italicized When writing by hand, you may underline instead of using italics But when you use a word processor, you MUST italicize

Your Turn Take out all seven of your poetry charts and paragraph responses 1.Working with your partner, compare your notes --on the right side of your page--to make sure you got all the important information 2.Then working with your partner or alone, identify the main idea of your information on the skinny left side a. Compose a question that the notes on the right would answer 3.Edit your citations to match the information in your Cornell style notes 4.Create a Works Cited page, using the information in your notes