1. William Shakespeare c. 1564-1616 b. Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Playwright, Poet, Actor
Most famous for his plays
All but 2 of his 154 sonnets were published in 1609
Wrote during the Renaissance period
Time of carpé diem poetry 1

2. Explicating Poetry: 5 Steps
Examine the situation.
Examine the structure.
Examine the language.
Examine the musical devices.
Write about your conclusions!

3. Shakespearean Sonnets
1609 Quarto only source of most 152 Shakespearean Sonnets
3 categories of poems in Quarto:
1-126 addressed to The Fair Youth
addressed to The Dark Mistress
A Lover’s Complaint a 329-line poem written in Rhyme Royal

4. Shakespeare’s Addressees
The Fair Youth (sonnets 1-126)
An unnamed young man
Loving and romantic language
Some suggest this may be a homosexual love, others find support that it is platonic, or father-son love
The Dark Mistress (sonnets )
Described as being dark-haired
Sonnets written about her express infatuation and are more sexual 4

5. Shakespearean Sonnet Form
Broken into 4 parts: 3 quatrains, 1 rhyming couplet
14 lines
Written in iambic pentameter ( = unstressed syllable; / = stressed syllable): ∩
/ / / / /
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? ∩ ∩ ∩ ∩ ∩ 5

6. Shakespearean Sonnet Form
Rhyme Scheme:
Quatrain 1: a b a b [introduces question]
Quatrain 2: c d c d [tentative
Quatrain 3: e f e f answers]
Rhyming Couplet: g g [final answer]
Volta:
The turn or transition in line 9 which marks a shift in focus or thought 6

7. Shakespeare’s Language
Singular Pronouns
Thou - Subject: "Thou art my brother."
Thee - Object: "Come, let me clutch thee."
Thy - Possessive Adjective: "What is thy name?"
Thine - Possessive Noun: "To thine own self be true."

8. The funny verb endings…
-st –est –t
Used to show 2nd person
Talking to someone
Thou hast to do thine schoolwork.
-t, -th, -eth/ -s
Used to show 3rd person (closer to what we use now)
Talking about someone
She hath to do her homework.

9. Word Inventor
Shakespeare is credited with creating over 1700 of our common words
Change the part of speech
Combine words
Adding prefixes or suffixes
Making up wholly original words

10. Here are some words Shakespeare came up with:
Highlight the ones you’ve heard of

11. academe cold-blooded gossip negotiate unreal
accused compromise green-eyed noiseless varied
addiction courtship gust obscene hint
vaulting advertising countless obsequiously ode
gnarled worthless amazement hobnob critic
zany arouse dauntless hurried dawn
olympian assassination impede outbreak gravel
backing deafening impartial panders bandit
discontent invulnerable pedant bedroom jaded
dishearten premeditated beached drugged label
puking besmirch dwindle lackluster rant
radiance birthplace epileptic laughable bet
blanket equivocal lonely remorseless elbow
bloodstained undress savagery barefaced caked
excitement luggage scuffle blushing cater
exposure lustrous secure eyeball frugal
madcap skim milk bump fashionable mimic
majestic submerge buzzer fixture lower
marketable summit flawed swagger
monumental torture champion generous

12. Word Order
Shakespeare was very particular in his word order. He may have been trying to:
Create a specific rhythm
Emphasize a certain word
Give a character a specific speech pattern