The Sonnet
Standard and Learning Objective
3.11 Evaluate the aesthetic qualities of style, including the
impact of diction and figurative language on tone, mood, and
theme, using the terminology of literary criticism. (Aesthetic
approach)
Objective – Students will demonstrate their understanding for
the aesthetic qualities of sonnets by identifying and interpreting
the style characteristics of sonnets with 100% accuracy.
The Building Blocks of a Sonnet
1. A Sonnet is 14 lines long.
2. These lines are divided into 2 sections
- The first section is called an octet (8
lines)
- The second section is called a sestet
(6 lines)
Another Sonnet for Stephan
By: Alvin Lester Sitomer
I see a little boy of four or five
Whose face lights up whenever we would play
Who made me feel it’s great to be alive
And wish that time would never tick away
I see a college youth who goes to Penn,
Strong and handsome, smart in mind and dress,
Enthusiastic, kind, who scores a “ten,”
Possessing every trait that spells success.
Octet
(8 Lines)
I see the man who came from both those boys
Creating business plans and paths to wealth
With nonchalance, with skills and unique poise
While fighting back attackers of his health.
The boy, the youth, the man are each now gone,
Except that in my heart they linger on.
Sestet
(6 Lines)
Vocabulary
1. Meter – rhythmical pattern of a poem
determined by the number and types of
stresses, or beats, in each line.
2. Foot – a measurement of rhythm made up of
a group of stressed and unstressed syllables
divided by vertical lines (|)
3. Penta – means FIVE
Each line in a Sonnet has a special rhythm.
The rhythm is created by iambs.
iamb – is a Foot where one unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable
Example:
I see a little boy of four or five
The iambs are:
u /
u /
u /
u /
u /
I see | a lit | tle boy | of four | or five
The sonnet’s rhythm sounds like:
Dee DUM Dee DUM Dee DUM Dee DUM
Like a heart beat
U
/
iamb = Dee DUM
The iambs are:
u /
u /
u /
u /
u /
I see | a lit | tle boy | of four | or five
Since each foot in a sonnet is an iamb and there
are five iambs in each line, the rhythmic pattern of
a sonnet is called Iambic Pentameter.
Iambic Pentameter
– a rhythmic pattern made up of 5 iambs
Check Out Iambic Pentameter
video
Heartbeat.
• It has the rhythm of the
human heart beat.
12
William Shakespeare
Wrote 154 Sonnets
using iambic Pentameter
to create a romantic
rhythm to express
emotions and to
represent formal speech.
13
Let’s Practice
I see a little boy of four or five
Whose face lights up whenever we would play
Who made me feel it’s great to be alive
And wish that time would never tick away
Identify the Iambic Pentameter
Whose face lights up whenever we would play
u
/
u
/
u
/ u
/
u
/
Whose face | lights up | whenev |er we | would play
Identify the Iambic Pentameter
Who made me feel it’s great to be alive
u
/
u /
u
/
u / u /
Who made | me feel | it’s great | to be | alive
Review
• A sonnet is 14 lines long
• A sonnet is made up with an octet (8 lines) and a
sestet (6 lines)
• Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter
because each line has a special rhythm and a
special length
• An iamb provides the rhythm of 1 unstressed
syllable followed by a stressed syllable
• The 5 iambs in each line create the pentameter.
The Sonnet Rhyming Scheme is:
a, b, a, b, c, d, c, d, e, f, e, f, g, g
Another Sonnet for Stephan
By: Alvin Lester Sitomer
I see a little boy of four or five
Whose face lights up whenever we would play
Who made me feel it’s great to be alive
And wish that time would never tick away
I see a college youth who goes to Penn,
Strong and handsome, smart in mind and dress,
Enthusiastic, kind, who scores a “ten,”
Possessing every trait that spells success.
(a)
(b)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(c)
(d)
I see the man who came from both those boys
Creating business plans and paths to wealth
With nonchalance, with skills and unique poise
While fighting back attackers of his health.
The boy, the youth, the man are each now gone,
Except that in my heart they linger on.
(e)
(f)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(g)
Heroic Couplet
• Are the last two lines that rhyme and are
labeled g, g in the rhyme scheme.
• Usually summarizes the sonnet’s earlier lines.
Let’s analyze a
Sonnet together.
• Go to the Heritage Website,
• Mr. Dorflinger’s Page,
• Open the Sonnet Page
• Download Sonnet 29
• Watch Sonnet 29 video after
reading