Petrarchan, Shakespearean, Modern
• Italian scholar and poet
• “Father of the Sonnet”
• Gave up his vocation as a priest after sighting Laura
• He had very little contact with Laura as she was already
married.
• He channeled his feelings into love poems since he couldn’t
express them to her.
• The beloved is ideally beautiful, unattainable, and cruel in rejecting the
poet’s love
• Love is a torment
• The Lover suffers from extremes of feeling
• The God of Love is harsh
• Love is a religion
• The eyes are the window to the soul
• The poem will immortalize the beloved
• Octave: 8 rhyming lines following the iambic pentameter structure of :
• abbaabba
or
aba b a b a b
• Sestet: 6 lines that can have either two or three rhyming sound
structures of:
• cdcdcd
cddcdc
cdecde
cdeced
cdcedc
• A Petrarchan sestet will never end in a couplet
• A change in rhyming groups (octave and sestet) indicates a
change in subject matter
• A “Volta” or turn indicates this shift in tone/attitude at the
end of the octave
• The octave introduces the situation/poses a question or
presents a problem
• The sestet comments on the situation or answers the problem
• Each group must present a dramatic reading of their lines. You
can choral read or act out. You have 10 minutes to prepare.
• Each group must interpret the meaning of their specific section.
• Each group will present their section and then explain the
meaning of it.
• The class as a whole will discuss the Volta or shift in tone
• Collection of 154 Sonnets first published in 1609
• The first 17 sonnets called the “procreation sonnets” are
addressed to a young man
• They urge him to marry and have children because he is a beautiful being
who should pass on his qualities to a future generation
• The subsequent sonnets discuss the SPEAKER’s love for the young
man and ambiguous feelings for the speaker’s mistress
• Main characters are The Fair Youth, The Rival Poet, and The
Dark Lady
• Definition: SONNET SEQUENCE: Also called a sonnet cycle,
this term refers to a gathering or arrangement of sonnets by
a single author so that the sonnets in that group or
arrangement deal with a single theme, situation, a particular
lady, or alternatively deal with what appears to be a
sequential story. Petrarch, Sidney, Spenser, and Shakespeare
all engaged in this practice, or at least the early editors of
their works did. Shakespeare's 154 sonnets are best known
of any sonnet sequences today. (http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_S.html)
• Sonnets 1-126: The Fair Youth
• 126 of the sonnets are dedicated to the mysterious Mr. W.H. and address
The Fair Youth
• These poems express the benefits of marriage and procreation and deal
with the ups and downs of the relationship.
• Sonnets 127-152: The Dark Lady
• These poems express the difference between spiritual love and sexual
desire.
• These poems put an end to the Fair Youth sequence because the speaker
succumbs to the dark haired lady.
• Sonnets 78-86: The Rival Poet
• These sonnets express the rivalry for fame and money
• Sonnets 153 and 154 are Allegories for Cupid
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Parody of the Petrarchan LOVE sonnet
Toys with gender roles
Portrays human evils that do not have to do with love
Comments on political events
Ridicules LOVE
Open dialogue about sexual desires and situations
Parodies beauty
• Almost always follows the 14 line structure of:
• Three 4 line quatrains
• Iambic pentameter rhyming couplet
• Follows the rhyme scheme of:
• abab cdcd efef gg
• The 3rd quatrain marks the “Volta” or shift in tone of the poem and where
the poet expresses a revelation or epiphany
• The couplet usually provides the theme of the sonnet
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Read the sonnet in your group.
Label the three quatrains and the rhyme scheme of each
Label the rhyming couplet
Label the Volta
Locate and explain as many literary terms as possible
Summarize what each quatrain is expressing
Summarize what the couplet is expressing
Write a paraphrased, modern version of this sonnet
Share with class
Discuss what the theme of this poem is.
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Read the sonnet in your group.
Label the three quatrains and the rhyme scheme of each
Label the rhyming couplet
Label the Volta
Locate and explain as many literary terms as possible
Summarize what each quatrain is expressing
Summarize what the couplet is expressing
Write a paraphrased, modern version of this sonnet
Share with class
Discuss what the theme of this poem is.
Write a thesis statement for the poem.
• Wrote a series of 48 sonnets called Sonnets From the Portuguese
in secret about her love for her intended Robert Browning
• Modeled her sonnets after the Petrarchan form (with some
variation of course!)
• She hid her relationship from her disapproving father.
• Elizabeth married Robert Browning and left Italy. She was
disowned by the Barrett family.
• Sonnet 28 represents the midpoint of their relationship where
she doubts his true intentions.
• Sonnet 43 expresses her love in countless comparisons