1. What is a Sonnet? Understanding the forms, meter, rhyme, and other aspects of the sonnet.

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

3. Italian Sonnet What the Sonnet Is? by: Eugene Lee-Hamilton Fourteen small broidered berries on the hem Of Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold; Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolled Into the sea, for pearls to come of them; Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gem With which Medea human fate foretold; Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old, Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem. It is the pure white diamond Dante brought To Beatrice; the sapphire Laura wore When Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought; The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core; The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wrought For his own soul, to wear for evermore.

4. Sonnet Form 0 A sonnet has 14 lines. It was created around the 13 th century in Italy and mean “little song” 0 A sonnet must be written in iambic pentameter 0 A sonnet must follow a specific rhyme scheme, depending on the type of sonnet. 0 A sonnet can be about any subject, though they are often about love or nature. 0 A sonnet introduces a problem or question in the beginning, and a resolution is offered after the Volta. 0 The Volta is a term meaning “the turn” or a change in the poem where the poet is about to close the dilemma

5. Iambic Pentameter 0 A line of Iambic Pentameter is a line with ten beats. 0 An “Iamb” is two beats, or one “foot.” 0 “Penta” is five (line has five “feet”). 0 “Meter” is the rhythm of the poem. 0 A “foot” is made of an unstressed syllable and a stressed syllable (in that order).

6. English Sonnet 0 An English Sonnet is also called a Shakespearean Sonnet because it was popularized by William Shakespeare 0 It includes three quatrains (groups of four lines) and a couplet (two lines). 0 The rhyme scheme is often abab cdcd efef gg. 0 The volta is either on the eighth line (Italian) or thirteenth line (Shakespearian).

7. Shakespearian/English Sonnet 0 Notice the 3 quatrains and last couplet My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare.

8. Shakespearian/English Sonnet 0 The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg 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 damasked, 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

9. Shakespearian/English Sonnet 0 Notice that the volta happens in the couplet 0 First the poet goes on about how “his love” can not compare to the natural beauties of nature 0 Yet at the very end he states that even though she is plain his love for her is not

10. Italian Sonnet 0 An Italian Sonnet is also called a Petrarchan Sonnet because it was invented by Francesco Petrarca known in English as Petrarch 0 It includes an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). 0 The rhyme scheme must begin with abbaabba, and can conclude with any variation of c, d, and e (cdecde or cdcdee). 0 The volta must occur between the octave and the sestet.

11. Italian Sonnet 0 Lines are in an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). Fourteen small broidered berries on the hem Of Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold; Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolled Into the sea, for pearls to come of them; Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gem With which Medea human fate foretold; Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old, Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem. It is the pure white diamond Dante brought To Beatrice; the sapphire Laura wore When Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought; The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core; The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wrought For his own soul, to wear for evermore. Octave Sestet

12. Italian Sonnet 0 Rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdcdcd. Fourteen small broidered berries on the hem a Of Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold; b Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolled b Into the sea, for pearls to come of them; a Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gem a With which Medea human fate foretold; b Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old, b Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem. a It is the pure white diamond Dante brought c To Beatrice; the sapphire Laura wore d When Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought; c The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core; d The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wrought c For his own soul, to wear for evermore. d

13. Italian Sonnet 0 The volta in this sonnet is between the octave and the sestet, or after eight lines. 0 The period at the end of line eight is a clue that this is the turn, especially because it is one of only two periods in the sonnet. 0 Before the volta, the speaker is telling of groups of fourteen; after the volta, he tells of who wrote the sonnets.