Sonnets, or… …how do I love poems? Let me count the ways….

Purpose To present and reflect on a “problem” and its “solution” in a rhymed, metered, structured poem.

Characteristics/Form 14 lines Iambic Pentameter Three quatrains and one couplet (Shakespearean) abab cdcd efef gg Contains a “turn” – a shift in tone/mood/perspective, usually between the quatrains and the couplet

Example SONNET 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Break it down Rhyme scheme: daya temperateb Maya date b shinesc dimm'd d declinesc untrimm'dd fadee ow'stf shadee grow'st f seeg theeg “u” = unstressed syllable “/” = stressed syllable Combined these are one “Iam” – u / Five Iams equals Iambic Pentameter: u / u / u / u / u / Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? U / u / u / u / u / Thou art more lovely and more temperate: u / u / u / u / u / Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, u / u / u / u / u / And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Break it down some more Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. You are prettier and calmer, more moderate, than a summer’s day. Spring brings with it high winds, and summer disappears too quickly. Sometimes the sun is too hot in the summer And sometimes the sun goes behind the clouds Everything beautiful fades either by chance or because it just naturally gets old. But your youth will not disappear And you won’t lose your beauty And Death won’t be able to say you belong to him because you will live on in a poem As long as men are alive and can read, this poem will be alive and thus so will you.

Break it down some more some more Personification? Check. –The sun is given an eye and a complexion –Death is able (or not) to brag “Turn” in tone? Check –Lines 1-8 describe a problem: Nature is variable and brief, and everything good fades away –Lines 9-14 present a solution: I will write this poem, and everyone will remember you, thus you’ll be immortal

Break it down some more some more some more Who is the poem about? Has the “thee” really been given immortality? –If you say “yes,” then describe her. What does she look like? What is her personality really like? –If you say “no,” then who has achieved immortality? Who continues to be known thanks to this poem? Oh, and just as a further point of interest, look at the first two lines again. What kind of stress does “I” get, and what kind of stress does “thou” get? (And who is “I” and who is “thou”?)