1. Shakespearean
Sonnets
English 2

2. Sonnets
Shakespeare’s sonnets were based around the themes of love, beauty, mortality and politics.

4. Shakespearean Sonnets
They are always 14 lines long and follow a strict rhyming scheme.
ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG
Shakespeare wrote his sonnets in Iambic Pentameter. 4

5. What else? Sonnets have 14 lines.
These 14 lines are broken down into 4 sections (stanzas).
The first 3 QUATRAINS have 4 lines each
The last Couplet has 2 lines.
The Volta is a turn or dramatic change in thought and/or emotion.

6. So a sonnet looks like this……
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
How many lines in each quatrain?
How many QUATRAINS are there?
How many lines are there altogether?
How many COUPLETS are there?

7. So a sonnet looks like this……
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
What do you notice about the words at the end of each line?

8. So a sonnet looks like this……
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. ……
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Volta

9. The Imagery of Love
Think of images that represent love – then twist it!
From beautiful rose...
...to ugly weed!

10. The Imagery of Love
Think of images that represent love – then twist it!
From a sunny, hot day...
From pretty smelling perfume...
...to a wet, cold day!
...to rotten apple!

11. So a sonnet looks like this……
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
How many syllables can you count in each line?