1. Sonnets How Do I Love Them? Let Me Count the Ways!

2.  The sonnet can be thematically divided into two sections:  The first presents the theme, raises an issue or doubt,  The second part answers the question, resolves the problem, or drives home the poem's point.  This change in the poem is called the turn and helps move forward the emotional action of the poem quickly.

3.  The Italian, or Petrarchan sonnet:  Fourteen lines  Iambic pentameter  Consists of an octet (eight lines) of two envelope quatrains Usually abba abba, Sometimes abba cddc, Or rarely abab abab; The turn occurs at the end of the octet and is developed and closed in the sestet.  And a sestet (six lines) Which may rhyme cdcdcd or cdccdc

4.  The English or Shakespearean sonnet:  Fourteen lines  Iambic pentameter  Consists of three Sicilian quatrains (four lines)  And a heroic couplet (two lines)  Rhymes: abab cdcd efef gg  The turn comes at or near line 13

5.  The Italian form, in some ways the simpler of the two, usually projects and develops a subject in the octet, then executes a turn at the beginning of the sestet, so that the sestet can in some way release the tension built up in the octave.

6.  The Shakespearean sonnet has a wider range of possibilities. One pattern introduces an idea in the first quatrain, complicates it in the second, complicates it still further in the third, and resolves the whole thing in the final couplet.

7. Subjects of Shakespearean Sonnets  Love  Friendship  Mortality  Immortality of poetry

8. Your Turn! Think of a friend that you would enjoy writing about. Write down your friend’s name and think of a a THING that reminds you of your friend.

9. Write two columns: THINK OF 10 DESCRIPTIONS FOR EACH DESCRIPTIONS OF YOUR FRIEND FUN ALIVE ENERGETIC CRAZY UNEXPECTED & SURPISING AUTHENTIC INSPIRING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE “THING” ALIVE HIGH VOLTAGE HAPPENS RANDOMLY STRIKES ONE PLACE UNPREDICTABLE USUALLY FOLLOWED BY RAIN CAN KILL SOMEONE

10. OK! LET’S BEGIN!  IN THE FIRST FOUR LINES, EXPLAIN WHAT TWO THINGS YOU WILL BE COMPARING AND WHAT THE THEME OF YOUR POEM WILL BE.

11. Example: No mortal can compare; lightning must do Lightning is but a moment; a blink of the eye Lightning doesn’t do justice to all that’s you To see high voltage magic; don’t look to the sky

12. Next Quatrain:  Continue to explain what is lacking about the “thing.” For this poem, I need to think about how the metaphor of lightning can not compare to my friend.

13. The Third Quatrain:  This part emphasizes the conflict in the poem – why is your friend superior to this “thing” that you are comparing to him or her?

14. Final Couplet…  The final two lines leave the reader with a new image.