Iambic pentameter, blank verse, sonnets, couplets, and what it is that really makes Shakespeare the greatest literary genius of all time

“I am the man.” – William Shakespeare

Why is Shakespeare considered a genius? To understand… you need to first know that it is not simply what he did (write 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 long narrative poems) -- it is how he did it! Shakespeare wrote his plays almost entirely in… —unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter Blank verse —unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter -- a metrical pattern in which a line of poetry has five unstressed syllables, each of which is followed by a stressed syllable Right now you’re going…. “WHAT???” So let me show you…

Iambic Pentameter has 10 syllables. 5 unstressed, 5 stressed “This holy shrine the gentle sin is this” This ho ly shrine the gen tle sin is this 1 iambic foot You must have 5 of these for it to be iambic PENTameter …still confused, right? That’s okay. I’ll put it another way…

Feel the Rhythm! A line of pure iambic pentameter has this rhythm: da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM but-SOFT what-LIGHT through-YON der-WIN dow-BREAKS

Beat out the following to see if they are iambic pentameter or not! Good pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much I strike quickly being moved Hark ye, your Romeo will be here at night Or else beshrew them both I say silver sound because musicians sound for silver Oh pardon me for bringing these ill news Oh, teach me how I should forget to think

ANSWERS Good pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much (YES) I strike quickly being moved (NO) Hark ye, your Romeo will be here at night (YES) Or else beshrew them both (NO) I say silver sound because musicians sound for silver (NO) Oh pardon me for bringing these ill news (YES) Oh, teach me how I should forget to think (YES)

Couplet Sometimes, however, Shakespeare has characters speak in two rhymed lines in a row, called a couplet. Example: sake Saints do not move, though grant for prayers sake. take Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take.

Sonnet A sonnet is a lyric poem 14 lines commonly written in iambic pentameter The Shakespearean sonnet consists of a verse of poetry rhyming with every other line in a pattern of The Shakespearean sonnet consists of a verse of poetry rhyming with every other line in a pattern of abab, cdcd, efef, gg. The final two lines are a couplet

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (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 dimmed ; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed ; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest 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. couplet

Weekend Homework: Write your own sonnet! It does not have to be in Shakespearean tongue It must be: 14 lines in iambic pentameter Follow the rhyme pattern ABAB CDCE EFEF GG Note: It may help you to use a hyphen between syllables of multi- syllable words – it’s easier to keep track of your iambic feet that way. After you do this, you will both appreciate Shakespeare’s abilities more and understand why he sometimes phrases things oddly and out of the usual order.

A Sonnet for my Pockets by: Mrs. Barber Po-ckets for la-dies are a to-tal sham In them there is no room to fit my things Un-fair ‘tis that sirs have more space than ma’ams Sad-ness up-on this day my po-cket brings Mine hus-band says I rant too much for these My la-dy po-ckets though won’t hold gum sticks They are not ev-en large e-nough for keys We must lug large pur-ses to car-ry tricks Used dai-ly like phones, wall-ets, coins and mints Lame la-dy po-ckets cause blin-ding fu-ry These griev-anc-es drive me to yelling hence Cloth-ing de-sign-ers please lis-ten, hur-ry Cor-rect thine foul er-ror or else I’ll crack I pri-thee take these la-dy po-ckets back!