Links to “Hour”?
“Sonnet 43”
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘First’ Reading
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What kinds of themes and ideas are evident?
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Are there any patterns?
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Is there anything notable about
language/structure/form?
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What do we think it’s fundamentally ‘about’?
Poetic Form and Structure
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What is the form of this poem?
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How do you know?
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What’s problematic?
Poetic Form and Structure
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Analyse the structure of the poem
closely with regard to:
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Rhythm and metre
Rhyme / half-rhyme
Punctuation
Development of argument
Italian (Petrarchan)
Sonnet
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14 lines
Two parts forming a compact ‘argument’:
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First eight lines = octet: problem
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Rhyme scheme abba abba
Ninth line = volta: turn in mood, tone, or stance
Last six lines= sestet: resolution
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Rhyme scheme possibilities vary:
 c-d-e-c-d-e
 c-d-c-c-d-c
 c-d-c-d-c-d
Look for these
concepts:
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Abstract and concrete
 Difficult to define / easily
defined
Attitudes to love
Time
Religious imagery
Innocence and experience
Noteworthy Grammar
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Have a look at grammatical
function words such as:
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Verbs
Pronouns
What do you notice?