Shakespearean Sonnets

Sonnet Form: Overview Rhyme Scheme: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG Rhyming Couplet: Last two lines Iambic Pentameter: 10 syllables per line, unstressed/stressed

Rhyme scheme 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 ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. A B A B C D C D E F E F G G

Without the couplet, your sonnet is incomplete! Rhyming Couplet 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 ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st. The last two lines of a sonnet rhyme, and they usually incorporate some sort of twist/unexpected idea not communicated in the previous lines. Without the couplet, your sonnet is incomplete! So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Iambic Pentameter Iamb – a pair of syllables. The first syllable is unstressed, and the second is stressed. Examples: comPARE, beYOND, inSIDE, to BE, for ME, the COW. Pentameter – Measured in fives. Oh no… math… Iambic Pentameter 2 syllables x 5 iambs = 10 syllables per line

Iambic Pentameter: Example 1 2 3 4 5 But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? 5 Iambs in a Line = Iambic Pentameter Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2

Just focus on fitting into the rhyme scheme. Time to Try It! Advanced: Developing: Emerging: Write a sonnet. Just focus on fitting into the rhyme scheme. Don’t forget your rhyming couplet! Be prepared to perform your sonnet tomorrow. Find a Shakespearean sonnet online and print it out. Denote the iambs in each line. Highlight the rhyme scheme and couplet. Be prepared to perform your sonnet tomorrow in true Shakespearean fashion. Write a sonnet. Utilize the correct rhyme scheme, including a rhyming couplet at the end. Play around with iambic pentameter and see if you can make it fit! Be prepared to perform your sonnet tomorrow.

Poetry Reading Tomorrow! Come in tomorrow read y to chill out, enjoy some poetry, and… oh yeah… PERFORM!