1. Lesson 1 Continued - Imagery
Sonnet
Lesson 1 Continued - Imagery

2. Sonnet Format of a Sonnet: Iambic Pentameter: Must have 14 lines
Must follow a regular rhymed pattern
Usually written in iambic pentameter
Iambic Pentameter:
Iamb – unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one (common in ordinary English)
Pentameter – there are five stressed syllables in each line (penta is Greek for “five” / meter is Greek for “measure”
Examples of Iambic Pentameter:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (William Shakespeare)
The shattered water made a misty din. (Robert Frost)

3. Types of Sonnets Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet:
The first 8 lines (the octave) pose a problem, which is responded to in the final 6 lines (the sestet).
English or Shakespearean Sonnet:
3 four-line units are followed by a couplet (2-line unit)
Modern Variations of Sonnets:
Poets also create their own types of sonnets, using modern or contemporary influences.

4. Questions for “Once by the Pacific”
Poem by Robert Frost (pg. 423)
What characteristics of a sonnet does this poem have? What type of sonnet is it? How do you know?
Describe the image in lines 1-4. What sense(s) is being triggered by the imagery?
In lines 2-6, what forces of nature seem to be human and alive?
Describe the image in lines 5-6. What sense(s) is being triggered by the imagery?
In lines 8-9, what backing do the shore and cliff have? What does the need for this backing imply?
According to lines 10-11, what do the wild waves make the speaker think of?
Whose “rage” is described in line 12? What could cause the rage?
What is the mood of this poem? Cite details that help to reveal the mood.
What is the theme of this poem?