1. Genres nonsense poetry narrative poetry lyric poetry nursery rhymes
folk/literary epics
lais
folk/literary ballads
lyric poetry

2. Lyric Poetry Focuses on emotions and thought
Doesn’t tell a story, or at most an implied narrative
Many genres
Generally more varied and popular today than narrative poetry

3. Formal Qualities: “Typical” Sonnets
fourteen line lyric poem
five stressed syllables
often iambic pentameter
regular rhyme scheme
regular stanza form
two distinct parts (argument, volta)

4. Italian Sonnets also called Petrarchan sonnets
origins in the 13th century
developed by the Italian poet Petrarch
developed further by Dante
two stanzas
one octave (8) which rhymes abba/abba
one sestet (6) which rhymes cde/cde

5. Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374)

6. English Sonnets also called Shakespearean sonnets four stanzas
three quatrains ( )
one couplet (2)
rhyme scheme abab/cdcd/efef/gg
How do we explain the different rhyme schemes between the Italian and English sonnets?

7. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

8. Sonnet Structure
Argument: the problem or situation proposed by the first part of the sonnet, typically in the octave of the Italian sonnet, and the three quatrains of the English sonnet
Volta: the “turn” in the poem, typically in the sestet of the Italian sonnet and the couplet of the English sonnet

9. Volta
a volta (Italian) means a turn, which here means a “turn” in the thought expressed by the poem
usually occurs between stanza one and two in Italian sonnets: the first stanza poses a problem; the second stanza offers a solution
usually occurs in the couplet of an English sonnet, which provides a “key” to understanding the problem of the first three stanzas
rules are made to be broken!

10. Common Sonnet Themes Sonnets are traditionally contemplative
Love (in various forms) is a common theme
Death, sometimes in conjunction with love
Time (finitude, eternity, mutability)
Imagination and the creative impulse

11. Sonnet History

12. Review Look once more at Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73.”
Note the formal and thematic qualities of this poem.

13. “Sonnet 73” That time of year thou mayst in me behold a
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang b
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, a
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. b
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day c
As after sunset fadeth in the west; d
Which by and by black night doth take away, c
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest. d

14. “Sonnet 73” In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire, e
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, f
As the death-bed whereon it must expire, e
Consumed with that which it was nourished by. f
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more g strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long. g

15. Investigate the Following
Semantics
Form
Theme
Structure
Technique

16. Semantics
Restate the poem’s content in non-poetic language.

17. Form
Consider the meter and rhyme scheme in each sonnet. Diagram a couple of lines metrically.
What do they have in common? How do they differ?
What types of sonnets are they?
Do they fulfill our expectations of the genre?

18. Technique What are some of the metaphors in the poems?
Where is personification used?

19. Theme and Structure What is the main theme in each poem?
Who are the poems written to?
Is there a volta in each poem?

20. Christine Rossetti (1830-1894)

21. “Remember” Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.

22. “Remember” Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

23. Michael Drayton ( )

24. “Sonnet 15” Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part.
Nay, I have done; you get no more of me,
And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself can free;
Shake hands forever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.

25. “Sonnet 15” Now at the last gasp of Love’s latest breath,
When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,
When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And Innocence is closing up his eyes,
Now if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,
From death to life thou mightst him yet recover.

26. To Note: Rossetti Repetition: remember Contrast: remember/forget
What tone is conveyed by this repetition?
Contrast: remember/forget
What irony is conveyed by this contrast?
Compression: volta
What is the essential message of the poem?

27. To Note: Drayton Conceit: metaphor and personification Reversal: volta
What is the metaphoric center of the conceit?
Reversal: volta
How does the volta reverse expectations (in the argument)?

28. E.E. Cummings ( )

29. “my naked lady framed”
See copies.

30. Cummings
Formally, the poem is somewhat unusual, but thematically it is just as traditional as the others. Why?
Answering this question depends on understanding what he is talking about.
What arts are mentioned? Who is the speaker addressing? What is the relation between the arts and that person? What does it all imply?

31. Immanuel Kant and Aesthetics

32. “Sonnet 27” Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind when body’s work’s expired;
For then my thoughts, from far where I abide,
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see;
Save that my soul’s imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which like a jewel hung in ghastly night
Makes black night beauteous and her old face new.
Lo, thus by day my limbs, by night my mind,
For thee, and for myself, no quiet find.

33. For Next Time
Read: “An Old Manuscript,” “Before the Law,” and “Give It Up!”