S O N N E T

What IS A SONNET?

~ The Basics of a Sonnet ~ -A Sonnet Contains 14 lines -A Sonnet is Written in Iambic Pentameter -Various Rhyme Schemes – But we are Studying Shakespearean Sonnets!

What!?!

-Understanding Iambic Pentameter- Meaning of Iambic: Two syllables together is known as a foot. So in a line of poetry | the cow | would be considered one foot. Because when you say the words, the is unstressed and cow is stressed, it can be represented as da DUM. An unstressed/stressed foot is known as an iamb. That’s where the term iambic comes from. da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM

-Understanding Iambic Pentameter- Meaning of Pentameter: Pentameter is simply penta, which means 5, meters. So a line of poetry written in pentameter has 5 feet, or 5 sets of stressed and unstressed syllables. In basic iambic pentameter, a line would have 5 feet of iambs, which is an unstressed and then a stressed syllable. There you go! da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM

-Example- if YOU | would PUT | the KEY | inSIDE | the LOCK da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM That’s the simplest way to define iambic pentameter. Piece of Cake … Right?

-Shakespearean Rhyme Scheme- The Shakespearean Sonnet follows this rhyme scheme: A B A B C D C D E F E F G G Rhyme

-Shakespearean Rhyme Scheme- Understanding the Quatrains of a Sonnet: A B C D E F G > > > > 1 st Quatrain: This should establish the subject, main theme, or main metaphor of the sonnet. 2 nd Quatrain: This should develop or complicate the sonnet’s theme. Often some imaginative example is given. 3 rd Quatrain: This should round off the sonnet’s theme. Sometimes this is done by using a twist or conflict. 4 th Quatrain: This should serve as a conclusion to the sonnet. This often leaves the reader with an image of some sort.

Shakespearean Sonnet #18 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.