Sonnets
14 lines of poetry
Two types
Petrarchan and Shakespearean
SHAKESPEAREAN
Written with rhyme scheme of
ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GG
Ends with a rhyming couplet
Usually written in iambic pentameter
Prologue to R&J is an example
Stressed Syllables
 Let’s talk about how to recognize stressed syllables.
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea
Which syllables should be stressed?
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea
Double-check: how would it sound if other syllables were
stressed?
 And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea
 Sounds awkward, right? That’s because we naturally
stress certain syllables when we speak.
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TRY IT YOURSELF!!
 “But soft! What light through
yonder window breaks!”
Write this example down on your chart,
and make the stressed, unstressed
marks. This is called “scanning” the
poem.
Iambic Pentameter
 A line of poetry is said to be written in
iambic pentameter when there are 5
sets (each called a foot) of an
unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable.
Example:
 The shattered water made a misty din.
 The shat / tered wa / ter made / a mi /
sty din