“When . . . Then . . . Then”: Problem-Solving in Poetry
lesson plan by Barbara Cobb
Shakespeare Sonnets Covered: Sonnets 29 and 30
What’s on for Today and Why:
In today’s lesson, students will explore Shakespeare’s Sonnets 29 and 30. Students will
recognize the similarities and differences in these sonnets: the “when . . . then”
structure, the emotions of the speakers, the distinctions between the auditors, the
“turn” or “volta.”
Then students will move to a poetry-writing workshop in which each will create an
original poem loosely based on one of the two sonnets covered: students will use a
“when” / “then” / “so” structure in order to describe a change in emotional state – sad
to happy – and to explain the importance of that change.
This unit covers 4th Grade Reading Literature Standards 1,2,4,5,6, Foundational Skills 3,4,
Writing Standards 1,3, as well as a number of the Language standards.
This lesson may be completed in a traditional classroom setting or in a computer lab.
This lesson may be completed in a 90-minute class period, with additional time allotted
for revision and peer editing, or it may be divided into several shorter lessons.
What to Do:
Introducing the Sonnet: Present students with the two sonnets (handout with sonnets
side-by-side.
Start with Sonnet 29. Have them read the first two lines out loud. Ask for volunteers to
recite these two lines, adding emotion and inflection. Discuss the metaphors in line 1:
what is “fortune”? what does it mean to be “in disgrace with fortune”? What are “men’s
eyes”? Does “eyes” mean eyes? What does it mean to be “in disgrace” with “men’s
eyes”? Discuss sound devices (assonance, consonance) in line 2: what is the effect of
these repetitions?
Work through lines 3 and 4: how do the “and” clauses add to the meaning presented in
lines 1-2? Then move to lines 5-8: how does the content of these lines further modify
the meaning presented in lines 1-4? How is the speaker developing his description of his
or her feelings? Have students evaluate the speaker’s emotional condition.
Introduce the term “turn” or “volta.”
In a SONNET, the speaker often presents a problem and then uses a
transition word like “Yet” or “But” to move from the problem to the solution.
What is the transition word in this sonnet? What happens in the last six lines? How does
the speaker describe his/her change in emotion? Why does his/her mood change?
Lines 11-12 contain a SIMILE, a comparison using “like” or “as.” Why does the poet use a
simile here? How does it enhance his meaning?
Have students look closely at the last two lines of the sonnet: how do these lines sum up
the meaning of the poem as a whole?
Now move to Sonnet 30. Have them read the first four lines out loud. Ask for volunteers
to recite a line at a time, lines 1-4. Ask them to paraphrase these lines. Ask them what a
“session of sweet silent thought” is. Ask them what “lack of many a thing I sought”
means. Ask them what “dear time’s waste” means. How does this speaker describe his
feelings? How is this speaker like and unlike the speaker in Sonnet 29?
Have them move to lines 5-8. Point out the transition word “Then.” Have them
paraphrase. Discuss metaphors “drown an eye,” “death’s dateless night,” “love’s
. . .cancelled woe,” “th’expense.” (Don’t feel that there’s one right answer here! Let
them brainstorm to find meaning.)
Do the same for lines 9-12. What are “grievances foregone”? “Tell o’er” can refer to
using prayer beads, like a Rosary; it may refer to what a “teller” in a bank does, as well,
which fits well with “account” and “pay” in the next two lines.
“But” – here’s the “turn” or “volta.” How does the speaker describe his/her change in
emotion? Why does his/her mood change?
Wrap up this reading unit by comparing/contrasting the implied auditors of the two
poems: how are they alike, and how are they different? What do the poems suggest
about friendship, or companionship, or love?
Writing the Poem: Use the graphic organizer (Sonnet 29 handout – can be used in a
computer lat OR in a traditional classroom) to brainstorm and to create a poem!
Encourage students to work through several drafts, developing ideas and making the
parts fit together in logical sequence: “when” / “then” / “so.
Differentiation:
Developmental: Students will define unfamiliar vocabulary; student will
concentrate on developing sequence and/or cause/effect: “when” / “then.”
Advanced: Introduce students to the two most common sonnet types,
Elizabethan and Petrarchan; identify the rhyme schemes in the two poems;
encourage students to incorporate some rhyme and other sound devices into
their original poems; have them choose a noun or noun clause in their work
and to replace it with a metaphor!
How did it go?
Do students understand the differences between Sonnets 29 and 30?
Do students recognize the similarities between the two poems?
Was each student able to produce at least a “when” / “then” sequence?
At best a poem that demonstrates a change in emotion, and the cause of that
change?