THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare was born in 1564 in a town called Stratford-upon-Avon. It was north of London.

His father, John Shakespeare, owned a shop as a glove maker and also held several government positions, including Mayor of Stratford.

He learned Latin in his grammar school as a child.

In Stratford-Upon Avon, he watched pageants and shows during holidays, enjoyed fairs twice a year and enjoyed traveling companies of actors which would perform there.

In 1582 at the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway who was 26. He had a daughter Susanna and twins named Hamlet and Judith.

He left Stratford for London to advance his literary career and become an actor.

In London he became a shareholder in an acting company called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men as well as the primary playwright and an actor.

He would often perform at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.

During the years of the plague, he would write poetry since the theaters were often closed. It was considered by the Elizabethans to be more important to write poetry than to write plays.

He wrote 154 sonnets during “a time when sonneteering was in vogue in London.”

After the plague he wrote about 2 plays a year. Shakespeare wrote a total of 37 plays. This made William a wealthy man.

His first play performed at the Globe Theater was Julius Caesar.

In 1599 he became partial owner of the Globe Theater. He held 10% of its shares.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth, her successor King James I licensed Shakespeare and his acting group to be called “The King’s Men”.

At the end of his life, he returned to Stratford-upon-Avon to retire. He died in 1616.

He is considered the greatest dramatist in the world.

He is considered the greatest English poet.

He had a clear understanding of human nature and created dramatic situations that relate to all human beings. (universality)

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet XVIII

A SONNET IS  a lyric poem  consisting of fourteen lines  written in iambic pentameter  with a definite rime scheme  and a definite thought structure A sonnet is a short lyric poem of 14 iambic pentameter lines with a particular rhyme scheme and thought structure.

Deals with emotions, feelings.

IAMBIC PENTAMETER CONSISTS OF five measures, units, or meters, of iambs five measures, units, or meters, of iambs

AN IAMB IS A METRICAL FOOT CONSISTING OF AN UNACCENTED SYLLABLE U FOLLOWED BY AN ACCENTED SYLLABLE /. U / a gain U / U / im mor ta lize

IAMBIC PENTAMETER U / U / U / U / U / One day I wrote her name u pon the strand, U / U / U / U / U / But came the waves and wash ed it a way: U / U / U / U / U / A gain I wrote it with a sec ond hand, U / U / U / U / U / But came the tide, and made my pains his prey  Edmund Spenser, Amoretti, Sonnet

RHYME SCHEME Petrarchan (Italian) rhyme scheme: abba, abba, cd, cd, cd abba, abba, cde, cde Shakespearean (English, or Elizabethan) rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg

The true originator of the sonnet form was the 14th century Italian poet, Francesco Petrarch, who wrote 366 sonnets for Laura, a woman he loved, but could not have. She was married and died of the plague, therefore representing the epitome of “unattainable” love. Laura de Noves

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 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. ABABABAB CDCDCDCD EFEFEFEF GGGG

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 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. A B A B C d C D E F E F G G

Notice: There is a “problem” introduced in the first part of the poem. What is the problem? The end of the poem offers a solution. What is the solution? 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.

Notice: the rhyming words at the ends of the lines. Do you see a pattern? Continue to mark these as started - a new letter for each new rhyming sound. How many different rhyming sounds are there? The rhymes create sets of lines. A set of four lines is called a “quatrain.” A set of two lines is called a “couplet.” Where is the “problem” set forth? And where is the“solution” located? Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? a Thou art more lovely and more temperate. b Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, a And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. b 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.

Notice: The unstressed (u) and stressed (/) syllable pairs in each line of the poem (mark them): u / u / u / u / u / u / Each pair is called a “foot.” The unstressed / stressed pattern is called an “iamb” (think: “I am,” “I am,” “I am”) It is a natural rhythm in spoken English. How many pairs of iambic feet are in each line? A sonnet is written in iambic pentameter. Sonnet 18 u / u / u / u / u / 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.

Review: A sonnet is composed of fourteen lines in iambic pentameter. A sonnet has a definite rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of the English sonnet separates the poem into three quatrains and a couplet. A sonnet contains a “problem” in the first part of the poem, which is typically resolved in the final couplet.

THOUGHT STRUCTURE Octave/ sestet The octave, eight lines, presents a situation or idea. The sestet (sextet), six lines, responds, to the situation or idea in the octave. Quatrain, quatrain, quatrain, couplet Each quatrain, four lines, describes an idea or situation which leads to a conclusion or response in the couplet, two lines.

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 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. The octave describes the ways in which the summer’s day is inferior to the beloved. The sestet describes the ways in which the beloved is superior to the summer’s day.