INSTRUCTIONS

Read the notes on sonnets.

Read the sonnets and answer the questions that follow each.

Complete the writing assignment
Shakespeare’s Sonnets: The Mysteries of Love
Shakespeare. The name calls to mind the great plays whose characters have come to life on stages around the world: Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello. Yet had Shakespeare written no plays at all, his reputation as a poet, as the author of the Sonnets (1609), would still have been immense. There are 154 sonnets altogether; their speaker is male, and their chief subject is love. Beyond those three points, however, there is little agreement, only questions:
• Is the sonnets’ speaker a dramatic character invented by Shakespeare, like Romeo, Macbeth, or
Hamlet, or is he the poet himself?
• If the sonnets are about the real man Shakespeare, then who are the real people behind the characters the sonnets mention?
• Is the order in which the sonnets were originally published (probably without Shakespeare’s consent) the correct or the intended sequence? Could they be arranged to tell a more coherent story? Should they be so arranged?
These and dozens of other questions about the sonnets have been asked and answered over and over again—but never to everybody’s satisfaction. We have hundreds of conflicting theories but no absolutely convincing answers.
About the individual sonnets, though, if not the whole sequence, agreement is perfect: They are among the supreme utterances in English. They say profound things about important human experiences, and they say them with great art.
The Sonnet in the Renaissance
The word sonnet is derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning “little sound; song.” A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem that conforms to strict patterns of rhythm and rhyme.
In Italy the sonnet form was perfected by Francesco Petrarca, known in English as Petrarch. The form he popularized is called the Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet. The Petrarchan sonnet has two parts: an eightline section, called the octave, followed by a six-line section, called the sestet. This form makes the
Italian sonnet perfectly suited for a two-part statement: question-answer, problem-solution, or themecomment. The transition between the two parts, called the volta, or turn, is usually found in the ninth line—the beginning of the sestet—as in Petrarch’s Sonnet 42, below.

SONNET 42
PETRARCH
The spring returns, the spring wind softly blowing
Sprinkles the grass with gleam and glitter of showers,
Powdering pearl and diamond, dripping with flowers,
Dropping wet flowers, dancing the winters going;
The swallow twitters, the groves of midnight are glowing
With nightingale music and madness; the sweet fierce powers
Of love flame up through the earth; the seed-soul towers
And trembles; nature is filled to overflowing…
The spring returns, but there is no returning
Of spring for me. O heart with anguish burning!
She that unlocked all April in a breath
Returns not…And these meadows, blossoms, birds
These lovely gentle girls—words, empty words
As bitter as the black estates of death!
a
b
b
a
a
b
b
a
c
c
d
e
e
d
Octave
Volta
Sestet
Translated by Joseph Auslander
The Shakespearean Sonnet Form
Each of Shakespeare’s sonnets has its formal organization, established by the rules of the sonnet form.
Each sonnet also has a logical organization of ideas, also established by the sonnet form.
In the English sonnet form known as the Shakespearean sonnet, the fixed requirements are fourteen iambic pentameter lines divided into three quatrains and a couplet, with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd
efef gg. Here is how Shakespeare structured Sonnet 18 to make these two organizations cooperate in a way that seems natural, not forced.
LOGICAL
ORGANIZATION
A question and tentative answers
SONNET 18
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
FORMAL
ORGANIZATION
a First quatrain
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,
b
a
b
c Second quatrain
The turn
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
d
c
d
e Third

quatrain
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest,
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade
f
e
A final answer
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.
f
g
g
Couplet
The logical organization of ideas, of course, varies from sonnet to sonnet. In Sonnet 18, the first line’s question is followed by negative answers: The speaker’s beloved does bear some resemblances to a summer’s day, but only superficial ones. The first two quatrains concentrate on the summer day’s imperfections rather than on the loved one.
Then in line 9 comes the turn—a shift in focus or thought. The speaker turns from the faulty summer’s day to the beloved, and by the end of the third quatrain, the speaker has entirely abandoned the opening comparison. Like most literary terms, the word turn is a metaphor; the speaker, figuratively speaking, is turning from one thing to another.
Sonnet 18, with its turn after line 8, follows the pattern of the Petrarchan sonnet; in an English sonnet the final couplet is often a second turn of great impact: a final summary or explanation of all that came before. In this sonnet the couplet says, perhaps with some exaggeration, that by being addressed in this poem, the beloved person has become immortal.
Shakespearean Sonnet
English poets, limited by their “rhyme-poor” language, created the English, or Shakespearean, sonnet, which allows more rhymes than the Petrarchan sonnet. The Shakespearean sonnet is fourteen lines long and uses three four-line units, called quatrains, followed by a final two-line couplet. The organization of thought in the sonnet usually corresponds to this structure: The three quatrains often express related ideas, and the couplet sums up the poet’s message. The Shakespearean sonnet is written in a particular
meter, or rhythmic pattern, called iambic pentameter, with each line consisting of five unstressed syllables alternating with five stressed syllables. The typical rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg.
As assigned, read each of the sonnets below and answer the questions that follow each. Do not move on to the next sonnet until you are instructed to do so.
After we have discussed the sonnets, you will move on to the writing assignment at the end of this document.

William Shakespeare
Sonnet 29
When, in disgrace ° with Fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless ° cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
5 Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him ° with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art, ° and that man’s scope, °
With what I most enjoy contented least;
10
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply ° I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark ° at break of day arising
From sullen ° earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings. disgrace- loss of favor bootless- useless; futile him- to whom the speaker is referring art- literary ability scope- power haply- by chance lark- bird sullen- gloomy
Thinking Critically
1. Like many of Shakespeare’s sonnets, Sonnet 29 is actually a single sentence. In the long introductory clause, what does the speaker say he envies?
2. The main clause begins the turn. In what line does the turn occur? What remembrance changes the speaker’s state of mind?
3. How does the speaker’s tone, or attitude, change after the turn?
4. What simile does the speaker use in lines 11–12 to describe his new state of mind? Does this simile strike you as a good description of joy?

5. Do you think that love has this power to transform our feelings? Discuss your responses to the poem.
Sonnet 71
William Shakespeare
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
5
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell.
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it; for I love you so
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot
If thinking on me then should make you woe.
10
O, if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I, perhaps, compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
But let your love even with my life decay,
Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone.
Thinking Critically
1. What does the speaker tell his loved one to do after he has died?
2. What two reasons does the speaker give for wanting his beloved to forget about him?
3. The shift in mood in Sonnet 71 is more subtle than that in the preceding sonnets. Where does the turn occur? What mood does the speaker shift into?
4. Where in this sonnet do you hear alliteration—the repetition of consonant sounds?
5. How does the speaker use irony in line 13 when he calls the world “wise”?
6. Think about the tone of this sonnet—the speaker’s attitude toward his subject, which is his own death. How would you describe his tone?
7. What does this speaker imply about the way in which the world views him?

Sonnet 116
William Shakespeare
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
5
10
Or bends with the remover to remove.
Oh no! It is an ever-fixèd mark °
That looks on tempests and is never shaken.
It is the star to every wandering bark, °
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
°
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass ° come.
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out ° even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved. mark n.: seamark; a prominent object on shore that serves as a guide to sailors; the North Star. bark n.: boat height be taken: altitude measured to determine a ship’s position. compass n.: range; reach. bears it out: survives.
Thinking Critically
1. What metaphors in this sonnet describe the steadiness of love?
2. Where does the speaker define love by what it is not and by what it does not do?
3. How is time personified in this poem?
4. Where does the turn in this sonnet take place? How do you think the speaker’s voice might change as he speaks this line?
5. What single quality of true love does this sonnet emphasize?
6. How could this sonnet be used to justify a difference in the lovers’ ages?
7. This poem is read at both weddings and funerals. Do you think the poem is equally appropriate for either occasion? Explain why or why not.

Writing Assignment
Now that you are familiar with Shakespearean sonnet form, you will attempt to write a sonnet of your own!
As you work on your sonnet, keep in mind the following items:

Who is the speaker? What is the speaker’s persona (character)?

Who is the person being addressed and what is his or her relationship to the speaker?

What figurative language or images will you use to create tone and reveal the message?

What will be the speaker’s tone, or attitude, toward the person and/or topic being addressed?

What subject does the sonnet address? For example, you might say the subject is friendship.

What is the main idea, or theme, of the sonnet? If the subject is friendship, the theme would be the important and universal truth you are trying to reveal about friendship through your sonnet.
You need not answer the questions directly, but the answers should be clear to one reading your work.
Also, your sonnet must follow the Shakespearean sonnet form, which includes:

Fourteen lines

Three quatrains (of related ideas)

An ending couplet (that sums up the message)

Rhyme scheme= abab cdcd efef gg

Iambic pentameter

Volta (change in argument or mood, usually at the couplet)
In addition to writing your sonnet, you will also write a reflection on your experience with this assignment. Guidelines are as follows:
Compose a typed reflection (one page, double-spaced, typed below your sonnet) that features: a. a discussion of the subject you feel your poem addresses b. a discussion of the theme, or universal truth, you feel your sonnet reveals about said subject
(For a and b, you might want to share your inspiration for choosing this subject/theme as part of your discussion, but you do not have to do so.) c. your feedback concerning the creative process i.
how did you approach writing this sonnet? ii.
what was the most challenging aspect? the most rewarding? iii.
how did this assignment provide you a new way to consider the role of language AND the concept your sonnet addresses? iv.
Anything else you’d like to share about your experience . . .
See rubric below

NAME_______________________________________________ DATE__________ PERIOD_____
SONNET SCORE SHEET
____/2 The sonnet has three quatrains
____/3 The quatrains feature a consistent main idea
____/2 The sonnet has a couplet
____/3 The couplet has a clear volta (a change in argument or mood in the couplet)
____/3 The sonnet has proper rhyme scheme
____/2 The sonnet has 14 lines
____/4 The sonnet has iambic pentameter throughout
____/7 The content (subject and theme) of the sonnet is clear, serious and universal, and the poet consistently treats the subject seriously
.
____/5 The content is consistently insightful and thoughtful throughout the sonnet.
____/3 The content makes logical sense throughout the sonnet.
____/3 The diction of the sonnet consistently works well with the meter.
____/5 The sonnet features imagery, figurative language, or other poetic devices
____/4 Speaker has strong voice; tone and mood are clear
____/2 There are no mistakes in proper punctuation, grammar, spelling, and usage.
____/2 The sonnet has proper presentation format: typed neatly in sonnet form, in black ink and a readable font, with a proper MLA formatted heading.
_____/50 for sonnet
_____/15 for reflection
_____/5 for recitation
_____/70 TOTAL POINTS