Shakespearean Sonnets CP English 9 Students will be able to translate and analyze a Shakespearean sonnet after reading/hearing it aloud, taking notes on vocabulary, and discussion.

William Shakespeare

What is a sonnet? A sonnet has 14 lines. A sonnet must be written in iambic pentameter A sonnet must follow a specific rhyme scheme, depending on the type of sonnet. A sonnet can be about any subject, though they are often about love or nature. A sonnet introduces a problem or question in the beginning, and a resolution is offered after the shift. Iambic what? Oh dear, this is going to be a weird lesson!

Iambic Pentameter  Iambic Pentameter is the rhythm and meter in which poets and playwrights wrote in Elizabethan England. It is a metre that Shakespeare uses.

Heartbeat. Quite simply, it sounds like this: dee DUM, dee DUM, dee DUM, dee DUM, dee DUM. It consists of a line of five iambic feet, ten syllables with five unstressed and five stressed syllables. It is the first and last sound we ever hear, it is the rhythm of the human heart beat.

Pentameter? Well an ‘iamb’ is ‘dee Dum’ – it is the heart beat. Penta is from the Greek for five. Meter is really the pattern So, there are five iambs per line! (Iambic penta meter )

It is percussive and attractive to the ear and has an effect on the listener's central nervous system. An Example of Pentameter from Shakespeare: but SOFT what LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS

Syllables What is a syllable? Well, there are three syllables (separate sounds) in the word syllable! “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks.” How many syllables are there in that quotation?

“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks.” Write this down and underline the stressed words. If you cannot remember, go back to slide 5. This rhythm is iambic pentameter! Well done!

Back to sonnets. Well, it is a poetic form. But it has a certain structure as well as a rhyming pattern.

Rhyming patterns The Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet, the scheme being: abab cdcd efef gg. Some sonnets are split into two parts: an octave and a sestet. More head scratching?

Quatrain? Octave? Sestet? Quatrains are four line stanzas of any kind Octaves are eight line stanzas (Usually at the beginning of a sonnet A sestet is the last six lines of a sonnet I have divided the following sonnet into the three quatrains. I’ve also marked the octave and sestet in the poem. You will also see the rhyming pattern marked out for you.

Sonnet 130     My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; (a) Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; (b) If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; (a) If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. (b) I have seen roses damask’d, red and white, (c) But no such roses see I in her cheeks; (d) And in some perfumes is there more delight (c) Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. (d) _____________________________________________ I love to hear her speak, yet well I know (e) That music hath a far more pleasing sound; (f) I grant I never saw a goddess go; (e) My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground: (f) And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare (g) As any she belied with false compare. (g) Octave Sestet Rhyming Couplet

What does it mean? Read the sonnet out loud a couple of times, then take each line and translate it into modern English.

But in his unconventional love poem Shakespeare In a conventional love poem the writer would exaggerate how beautiful his mistress is: My mistress' eyes are more fantastic than the sun; But in his unconventional love poem Shakespeare underplays how beautiful his mistress is: What effect does this line have on the reader? “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;” Does it make us wonder what her eyes are like? My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; He has turned around the convention of exaggerated praise http://marrasouk.com

He carries on with the unconventional approach in the next lines desirable feature Her lips aren't red Pink-orange colour Coral is far more red than her lips' red Something of a cliche The conventional Grey brown colour If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun Is he saying she is not beautiful or is he saying she is beautiful in a different way? Can we answer this or do we need to read on? http://marrasouk.com

In the next lines he moves on to describe other physical features If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. So she is not conventionally beautiful Gold wires were used in head-dress and compared to golden hair Blondes were more highly rated streaked I have seen roses damask'd, red and white Is he disparaging his mistress or do these lines enhance the idea of unconventional beauty? But she doesn’t have this complexion But no such roses see I in her cheeks; http://marrasouk.com

The author moves from how she looks to how she smells And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. Smells- the word didn’t have a negative meaning in Shakespeare’s time He’s not saying the smell of her breath is unpleasant - just that perfume smells sweeter In conventional love poems you would say her breath was sweeter than perfume But Shakespeare takes an unconventional approach http://marrasouk.com

The next feature is the sound of her voice I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; He’s not being critical of her voice: all he’s saying is that music has a more pleasing sound In the conventional love poem the writer would say that her voice was sweeter than music http://marrasouk.com

The poet describes how his mistress walks I admit to you I’ve never seen a goddess walk I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground: My mistress walks like anyone else, on the ground, rather than floating through the air In a conventional love poem she would be described as a goddess He’s stressing his mistress is no goddess. http://marrasouk.com

So does the poet think that his mistress is beautiful or what? The last 2 lines tell us Direct statement, telling us what he thinks exceptional And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare. For emphasis The poet thinks she’s beautiful but doesn’t want to describe her in a clichéd way. She is as beautiful as any woman who is praised with false comparisons http://marrasouk.com