Sonnets

William Shakespeare

Sonnet Form 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 (English “Shakespearian”/Italian “Petrarchan”). A sonnet can be about any subject, though they are often about love or nature.

English Sonnet An English Sonnet is also called a Shakespearean Sonnet. It includes three quatrains (groups of four lines) and a couplet (two lines). The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg. The turn is either after eight lines or ten lines. A coordinating conjunction usually indicates the turn (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Plot Structure A sonnet may: introduce question in the beginning, and offer a answer after the turn. Present a problem at the beginning and pose a solution at the end. Bring up a topic at the beginning, and comment on the topic at the end.

Iambic Pentameter Review  Iambic Pentameter is the rhythm and meter in which poets and playwrights wrote in Elizabethan England. It is also the meter 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.

Why do writers use it? 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

How do you know it is a Shakespearean Sonnet? rhyme scheme 14 lines 3 quatrains and a couplet iambic pentameter plot structure

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. 

Sonnet 18 OOOOH Baby I think I shall compare you to a summer day But, you know, you're prettier and even better, even calm Because sometimes it gets windy and the buds on the trees get shaken off And sometimes summer doesn't last very long Sometimes it's too hot And everything gorgeous loses its looks By getting hit by a truck Or just because everyone and everything gets old and ugly and shabby BUT (and here's the turn) you're going to keep your looks forever  Your beauty will last forever I'm going to make sure that you never lose your good looks And that nasty old Death can never brag about owning you Because I shall write this poem about you As long as men can breathe (are you breathing?)  As long as men can see (are you looking at this poem?) Then this poem lives, and it gives life and memory to your beauty.

Sonnet 29 When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon my self and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featured like him, like him with friends possessed, Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope, With what I most enjoy contented least, Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising, Haply I think on thee, and then my state, (Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate,  For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Sonnet 29 When I feel unlucky and as if no one likes me And I feel all alone and cry And it's as if my prayers to heaven have no power at all because no one is listening And I feel sorry for myself and think that I'm the unluckiest person alive I wish that I had that persons opportunities That I looked like that cute person and was as popular as the most popular person in my class Wishing that I had that man's talent, and that man's understanding of difficult concepts Not at all happy with the things I usually enjoy. Even then, almost hating myself for thinking this way Perhaps my thoughts think about you, and then my soul, Just like the lark that sings at the moment the light of day Breaks over the cold earth, sings a song filled with joy and light  Because I remember the sweet love we share, and the richness that it brings  And, at that point, remembering what we have together, I wouldn't change my present condition even with a king. .

Italian Sonnet An Italian Sonnet is also called a Petrarchan Sonnet. It includes an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). The octave follows the rhyme scheme abba/abba The sestet can follow one of the following rhyme schemes, or a different variation: cdecde, cdcdcd, cddcdd, and cddece The octave presents a conflict or complication, and the sestet resolves it.

Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee: she is a fen Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen, Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower, Have forfeited their ancient English dower Of inward happiness. We are selfish men; Oh! raise us up, return to us again; And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power. Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart; Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, So didst thou travel on life's common way, In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart The lowliest duties on herself did lay.

Milton, my man, you should still be alive Milton, my man, you should still be alive. England needs you; she is like a stale, algae covered swamp. I am worried about religion (altar), our military (sword), literature (pen), the home (fireside), and the economy (heroic wealth) and that they have lost their meaning to the English people. We, the English people, are selfish and debased, and we need you, Milton, to come back and get us out of our slump, make us nicer and more powerful. Your soul was like a star that was separate from the regular folk. You had a voice (and he’s talking about poetic voice here) that was heavenly and powerful. Despite all of your amazing talents, you were just a common man and you spent your energy doing even the lowliest of tasks.