Basic Sonnet Information
(The word sonnet means little song)
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History of the sonnet
• Italy in the 13th Century
• Petrarch
• 14 lines of romantic love song
• Made famous by Francesco Petrarch 14th
Century (Petrarchan sonnet)
2
Sonnets by Shakespeare
Shakespearean (or Elizabethan)
– Shakespearean sonnets are written in iambic
pentameter
– William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets
3
Components of a sonnet
• 14 lines
• Each line consists of 10 syllables
• Every other syllable in the line is stressed to give it a
rhythm that sounds like da-DUM, da-DUM
– Written in iambic pentameter (meter!)
• Broken into 3 quatrains
– A quatrain is a group of 4 lines
• The last 2 lines are called a couplet. These two lines
rhyme
• Rhyme scheme for a Shakespearean sonnet:
abab, cdcd, efef, gg
4
Thee = you
Thou = you
Hath = has
Fair = beauty
& youth
Thy = your
5
The method to his madness
• Subject = Love
• Method = Metaphor, imagery, simile. rhyme, form
• The twist = Volta
6
Turning the Cheesy Sonnet on
its head
• http://www.shakespearessonnets.com/sonnet/130
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A (sun)
B (red)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
A (dun)
B (head)
C (white)
D (cheeks)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
C (delight)
D (reeks)
E (know)
F (sound)
E (go)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
F (ground)
G (rare)
G (compare)
Couplet (lines 13-44)
Volta-look for transition words such as: but,
therefore, however, yet, or, so. These words
are a good place to start.
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You are now a sonneteer.
Write one!
Requirements: Follow the recipe:
•14 lines, 10 syllables per line
•(iambic pentameter: da-DUM, da-Dum). Only
break the rules if you can do it well.
•Follow the rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
•Must use metaphor and volta
•Recommendation: tackle it in chunks.
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What should you write about?
School, your boyfriend/girlfriend, art, spring, rain,
snow, a smile, how depressing/exciting the end of the
school year will be for you, missing someone,
emptiness, metacognition, love, lunch, spaghetti,
dogs, homework, water-skiing, Shakespeare, your
favorite book, a vacation, childhood…Whatever.
Everything’s good. It can be happy, sad, funny, crazy,
serious…Just be creative!
Due Typed
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