Download BritishLiteratureShakespeareanSonnetFormandModelingActivity

Shakespearean Sonnets
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
Shakespeare, Sonnet XVIII
Sonnet: Definition
 A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem usually
written in iambic pentameter with a specific
rhyme scheme.
 We will examine the Shakespearean Sonnet
form in this lesson.
The Shakespearean Sonnet
 The Shakespearean
sonnet, unlike other
sonnet forms, has
three four-line stanzas
(quatrains) and a twoline unit (a couplet),
which is always
indented. Three fourline stanzas plus one
two-line couplet
equals fourteen lines.
 The rhyme scheme is
as follows:
– First stanza (quatrain):
ABAB
– Second stanza
(quatrain): CDCD
– Third stanza (quatrain):
EFEF
– Couplet: GG.
Shakespearean Sonnet: Origin
 Shakespeare wrote most of the lines in his
plays in blank verse, which is unrhymed
iambic pentameter.
 Shakespeare's sonnets were also written in
iambic pentameter, but the lines had a
rhyming scheme.
Shakespearean Sonnet: Iambs
 An iamb is a unit of rhythm consisting of an
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed
syllable.
 The words “annoy,” “fulfill,” “pretend,”
“regard,” and “serene” are all examples of
iambs.
Shakespearean Sonnet: Iambic Pentameter
 When a line has five iambs, it is in iambic
pentameter. The prefix ''pent'' means ''five.''
 The suffix ''meter'' (in ''pentameter'') refers
to the recurrence of a rhythmic unit (also
called a ''foot'').
 Because they contain five iambs (five feet)
they are said to be in iambic pentameter.
Examples of Iambic Pentameter
 The following line
from “Romeo and
Juliet” demonstrates
the use of iambs. The
stressed words or
syllables are
underlined:
– But, soft! What light
through yonder
window breaks?
Shakespeare’s Sonnet XVIII (18)
A
B
A
B
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:
C
D
C
D
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;
E But thy eternal summer shall not FADE
F Nor lose possession of that fair thou OWEST;
E Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his SHADE,
F When in eternal lines to time thou GROWEST:
G
G
So long as men can breathe or eyes can SEE,
So long lives this and this gives life to THEE.
Shakespearean Sonnet Assignment
 Compose a Shakespearean
sonnet modeled on Sonnet
XVIII.
 Follow the rhyme scheme,
and check each line to
ensure it’s in iambic
pentameter.
 Begin with the following
line: “Shall I compare thee
to…”
– Fill in the blank.
– Use the sonnet as a model
for the remaining lines.