1. Iambic Pentameter and Sonnets Wrote 154 sonnets, in addition to his plays. Sonnets were even incorporated into his plays!

2. Iambic Pentameter: What? and Why?
A sound pattern
Kept things moving in the play (like a drum beat)
Made the words & the play more interesting
Helped the actors remember their lines (like a song)

3. Iambic An IAMB is a sound with two syllables
has one unaccented (or unstressed) syllable followed by one accented (or stressed) syllable
Each IAMB (two syllables) is a foot (or a meter)
It’s like a heartbeat:
ba-bum | ba-bum | ba-bum | ba-bum | ba-bum
I AM | I AM | I AM | I AM | I AM

4. Pentameter Penta = 5, Meter (foot) = measure of sound
Iambic Pentameter:
Five meters (feet) of IAMB’s per line
Equals ten syllables total per line
he WENT to TOWN toDAY to BUY a CAR
In SOOTH / I KNOW / not WHY / I AM / so SAD

5. Iambic Pentameter I SAW/ the GOAT/ beHIND/ the O/pen FENCE.
I SAW/ the BE/hind OF/ the HUN/gry GOAT!
Love LOOKS not WITH the EYES, but WITH the MIND.

6. ~ The Basics of a Sonnet ~
-usually about love or something that evokes passion
-contains 14 lines
-written in Iambic Pentameter
-has this rhyme scheme: abab/cdcd/efef/gg

7. The Quatrains (four-line poem) of a Sonnet:
A B A B
C D C D E
F E F
G G
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1st Quatrain: Establishes the subject, main theme, or main metaphor of the sonnet.
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2nd Quatrain: Develops the sonnet’s theme. Extends the metaphor.
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3rd Quatrain: Often contains a turn or twist called a volta, sometimes introduced with the word “but.”
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4th couplet (two-line poem): Conclusion to the sonnet.

8. Characteristics of a Shakespearean (English) sonnet
14 lines:
3 quatrains (4 lines each)
1 couplet (2 lines)
Follows the same rhyme scheme: ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GG
Each line is written in iambic pentameter:
Each line consists of 10 syllables.
The syllables are divided into five pairs of iambs.
An iamb= unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable

9. Examples of Iambic Pentameter
When I / do COUNT/ the CLOCK/ that TELLS/ the TIME
When IN/ dis GRACE/ with FOR/ tune AND / men’s EYES
How many syllables per line?
Accent (stress) pattern?

10. Romeo and Juliet Prologue
Two house/holds, both/ alike/ in dig/nity, A In fair/ Veron/a, where/ we lay/ our scene, B From an/cient grudge/ break to/ new mu/tiny, A Where civ/il blood/ makes civ/il hands/ unclean. B From forth the fatal loins of these two foes C A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; D Whose misadventured piteous overthrows C Do with their death bury their parents' strife. D The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, E And the continuance of their parents' rage, F Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, E Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; F The which if you with patient ears attend, G What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. G

11. Now you try it!!
Using the form and the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet, write your own QUATRAIN about new love, lost love, a beautiful day, a terrible day, or anything you wish (as long as it is appropriate).
Use a pencil.
If you cannot come up with a topic, I will assign one.

12. Example Topic= Friends On a bright sun ny day I met friend re call the
like it
was to
knew we
would be
friends un
til
end
miss
you
lot
since
went
way