1. Elements of a Sonnet

2. Why do we read Shakespeare? The stories are timeless: it doesn’t matter when they are told.

3. Modern versions Romeo and Juliet The Merchant of Venice

4. Shakespeare’s influence Today’s songs, books, poems, and stories ALL use themes that were uncommon BEFORE Shakespeare but became common AFTER.

5. Seminal artists (musicians, actors, politicians, historical figures, etc.) Write down FIVE seminal people and explain WHY each person could be considered seminal.

6. Reading poetry When reading poetry, stop at punctuation, which will not always be at the end of the line. In addition, use the punctuation to assist with proper inflection.

7. Rhymes Some of the rhymes (heart/start, love/above, fire/desire) have become rhyme clichés that one hears in most pop songs When these sonnets were written, those rhymes were uncommon.

8. What is a sonnet? A 14-line verse form usually having one of several conventional rhyme schemes Shakespearean (or Elizabethan) sonnets contain three quatrains and one couplet Quatrain: a group of four lines Couplet: two lines Label the quatrains and couplet before you begin reading a sonnet.

9. What is a sonnet? (more!) Each line of a sonnet has 10 syllables Iambic pentameter Five "feet" or "measures" of iambic verse. An “iamb” is one of the “weak STRONG” units used to build a line of iambic pentameter. “Penta” means five. Therefore, iambic pentameter is a line of verse that has FIVE iambs. Each line has 10 syllables divided into groups of two.

10. What is a sonnet? (concluded) The accent or stress is on the second of the two syllables. Imagine a heartbeat (which is actually two beats, not one) Example: For brave Macbeth -- well he deserves that name "For brave" equals one measure or foot of iambic verse, or one iamb

11. Rhyme Scheme Elizabethan sonnet is always: ABABCDCDEFEFGG There are other types of sonnets and we may cover some of those later in this brief unit.

12. Sight rhymes Oftentimes, the poet will do a sight rhyme. "Heat" and "sweat" do not rhyme, but they look like they might.

13. Slant rhymes Words that don’t rhyme, but share some of the same sounds. “Girl” and “world”

14. Labeling your poem What is the rhyme scheme? Look at the last word in each line. The first line will always be assigned the letter “A,” as that is the first letter. For subsequent lines, look back to the line(s) that came before it in order to determine if a line rhymes with that line. Whenever there is a rhyme, the lines that rhyme get the same letter.

15. Vocabulary Go through the poem and identify vocabulary words with which you are not familiar

16. Speaker of the poem Please do not EVER say that the speaker of the poem is the author! Describe the person. Is it a man or a woman (sex of the author)? To whom or what is the author speaking or referring? Explanation should be only one sentence

17. Topic of the poem What the poem is LITERALLY about Do not interpret (at this point) Explanation should be three sentences (one sentence for each quatrain). The first sentence should not be the same as the sentence for the speaker of the poem.

18. Theme (or message) Message usually can be found in the couplet (the last two lines). It should be a message that is not only applicable to the poem, but is also a lesson of life. Explanation is one SHORT sentence: think BUMPER STICKER LENGTH. Still confused?

19. Theme (continued) What is Nike’s slogan? What is Gatorade’s slogan? What is the slogan for McDonald’s?

20. Theme (concluded) The message is usually something “big picture” Remember, it is something that is applicable to things other than just the poem Examples: You can’t always get what you want Only love can break your heart