Elements of a Sonnet

Why do we read Shakespeare?

The stories are timeless: it doesn’t matter when they are told.

Modern versions

• Romeo and Juliet

• The Merchant of Venice

Shakespeare’s influence

Today’s songs, books, poems, and stories ALL use themes that were uncommon BEFORE Shakespeare but became common AFTER.

Seminal artists (musicians, actors, politicians, historical figures, etc.)

• Write down FIVE seminal people and explain WHY each person could be considered seminal.

Reading poetry

When reading poetry, stop at punctuation, which will not always be at the end of the line. In addition, use the punctuation to assist with proper inflection.

Rhymes

• Some of the rhymes (heart/start, love/above, fire/desire) have become rhyme clichés that one hears in most pop songs

• When these sonnets were written, those rhymes were uncommon.

What is a sonnet?

• A 14-line verse form usually having one of several conventional rhyme schemes

• Shakespearean (or Elizabethan) sonnets contain three quatrains and one couplet• Quatrain: a group of four lines• Couplet: two lines• Label the quatrains and couplet before you

begin reading a sonnet.

What is a sonnet? (more!)

• Each line of a sonnet has 10 syllables• Iambic pentameter

• Five "feet" or "measures" of iambic verse.• An “iamb” is one of the “weak STRONG”

units used to build a line of iambic pentameter. “Penta” means five. Therefore, iambic pentameter is a line of verse that has FIVE iambs.

• Each line has 10 syllables divided into groups of two.

What is a sonnet? (concluded)

• The accent or stress is on the second of the two syllables.

• Imagine a heartbeat (which is actually two beats, not one)• Example:

• For brave Macbeth -- well he deserves that name

• "For brave" equals one measure or foot of iambic verse, or one iamb

Rhyme Scheme

• Elizabethan sonnet is always:

• ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

• There are other types of sonnets and we may cover some of those later in this brief unit.

Sight rhymes

• Oftentimes, the poet will do a sight rhyme.

• "Heat" and "sweat" do not rhyme, but they look like they might.

Slant rhymes

• Words that don’t rhyme, but share some of the same sounds.

• “Girl” and “world”

Labeling your poem

What is the rhyme scheme? Look at the last word in each line. The first line will always be assigned the letter “A,” as that is the first letter. For subsequent lines, look back to the line(s) that came before it in order to determine if a line rhymes with that line. Whenever there is a rhyme, the lines that rhyme get the same letter.

Vocabulary

Go through the poem and identify vocabulary words with which you are not

familiar

Speaker of the poem

• Please do not EVER say that the speaker of the poem is the author! Describe the person.

• Is it a man or a woman (sex of the author)?

• To whom or what is the author speaking or referring?

• Explanation should be only one sentence

Topic of the poem

• What the poem is LITERALLY about

• Do not interpret (at this point)

• Explanation should be three sentences (one sentence for each quatrain). The first sentence should not be the same as the sentence for the speaker of the poem.

Theme (or message)

• Message usually can be found in the couplet (the last two lines). It should be a message that is not only applicable to the poem, but is also a lesson of life.

• Explanation is one SHORT sentence: think BUMPER STICKER LENGTH. Still confused?

Theme (continued)

What is Nike’s slogan?

What is Gatorade’s slogan?

What is the slogan for McDonald’s?

Theme (concluded)

• The message is usually something “big picture” Remember, it is something that is applicable to things other than just the poem

• Examples:• You can’t always get what you want• Only love can break your heart