Transcript S O N N E T S - hilliardsclass.com

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SONNETS
Shakespeare 101
+ First things first…if it’s square it’s a sonnet!
Sonnets:
 Are
square…super recognizable form
 Have 14 lines
 Have strict meter and rhyme scheme
 Are thematic
 Are either Shakespearean (English), Spenserian,
or Petrarchan (Italian)
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We will focus on Shakespearian sonnets.
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What a sonnet looks like
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14 lines (We’ll practice with Sonnet 18)
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
2. Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
3. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
4. And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
5. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
6. And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
7. And every fair from fair sometime declines,
8. By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
9. But thy eternal summer shall not fade
10.Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
11.Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
12.When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
13.So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
14.So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
1.
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What a sonnet sounds like
 Iambic
penta(tum)meter
Shall I / com PARE/ thee TO / a SUM / mer’s DAY?
Thou ART / more LOVE / ly AND / more TEM / per ATE
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What a sonnet sounds like…
abab
cdcd
efef
gg
Shall I compare thee to a summer's
Thou art more lovely and more
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of
And summer's lease hath all too short a
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven
And often is his gold complexion
And every fair from fair sometime
By chance or nature's changing course
But thy eternal summer shall not
Nor lose possession of that fair thou
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his
When in eternal lines to time thou
So long as men can breathe or eyes can
So long lives this and this gives life to
day?
temperate:
May,
date:
shines,
dimm'd;
declines,
untrimm'd;
fade
owest;
shade,
growest:
see,
thee.
a
b
a
b
c
d
c
d
e
f
e
f
g
g
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How a sonnet is organized
 First
quatrain establishes a theme or a problem.
Speaker compares lover to summer
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How a sonnet is organized
 Second
quatrain extends or qualifies the
theme or problem.
Speaker extends claim that he/she is lovelier than
summer
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How a sonnet is organized
 Third
quatrain indicates a shift in thought.
 Speaker
explains how his lover’s beauty will never
fade (like summer’s) because…
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How a sonnet is organized
A
rhyming couplet resolves the poem and
ends the conflict
Speaker immortalizes lover in his poem
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How to analyze a Shakespearian
sonnet
 Pay
attention to literary devices (obvs)
 Paraphrase
 So, say
like you’ve never paraphrased before.
it your own words. Go line by line and
unpack the language so you get it. Then, you’ll be
able to say what it means.
Sonnet 18 Paraphrase
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Shall I compare you to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
You are more lovely and more constant:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
Rough winds shake May’s flowers
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
And summer is far too short
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
At times the sun is too hot,
And often is his gold complexion dim’d;
Or often goes behind the clouds;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
And everything beautiful will lose its beauty,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
By misfortune or nature’s predestined course.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
But your youth will not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
And you will not lose the beauty you possess;
Nor shall Death brag though wander’st in his shade,
And even Death cannot claim you,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
Because I have immortalized you in my poem.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
And as long as there are people on Earth,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
My poem will be alive, too, and make you
immortal.