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SONNET
The term sonnet is derived from the Provençal word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little
song. By the thirteenth century, it had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines following a strict rhyme scheme
and logical structure. The conventions associated with the sonnet have changed during its history. Traditionally,
English poets usually use iambic pentameter when writing sonnets.
The form consists of three quatrains and a couplet. The couplet generally introduced an unexpected sharp
thematic or imagistic "turn". The usual rhyme scheme was a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.
This example, Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, illustrates
the form:
XVIII (Sonnet 18)
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
A sonnet is not limited to only one character.
Often, character’s lines can be shared in a sonnet:
ROMEO
I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
JULIET
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
ROMEO
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
JULIET
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
ROMEO
O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
JULIET
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.
ROMEO
Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Assignment
Now that you are experts at sonnets, it’s time to write one of your own. You know the rhyme scheme and a
meter. All you have to do is put it all together with a subject you feel passionate about.
Feel free to write about anything you want. Just keep in mind that you will be reading your sonnet to the rest of
the class.
Your sonnet must….
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Following the correct rhyming scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
Be written in iambic pentameter: 10 syllables per line
Make me weep (well, maybe not)
Due Date:
Next Class
Here’s an example of a Sonnet I wrote. I hope you enjoy it.
Chicken Wings: My One True Love
By Mr. Patterson
My nose awakes, the steamy bowl arrives.
The waitress smiles, delivering my meal.
The joy’s so great that tears fill up my eyes.
This is the way I wish I’d always feel.
The honey garlic sauce runs down my throat.
My teeth tear through the flesh and into meat.
My stomach starts to gurgle and to bloat
But I can’t stop (These wings are too damn sweet)
When finally my feeding time is done
And all that’s left is sauce and broken bone,
I pay my bill and step into the sun.
My wings are gone. I’m once again alone
My heart is briefly filled with such sorrow.
Thank God I can eat more wings tomorrow.