September 20th, 2013
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Community Circle
Sonnet
Essay- Thesis and supporting points
WEEKEND! 
The Sonnet
What is it?
-14 lines
-Rhyme scheme
-Iambic pentameter
THE VOCABULARY
Iamb=1 unstressed syllable+1stressed
Penta=5
Meter=one line of the sonnet
Meter=iamb x 5
Shall I /compare /thee to /a sum/mer’s day/?
Death, be
Iambus
Death, be /not proud, /though some /have call/ed thee
meter
(Meter x 14) + rhyme scheme + content = Sonnet magic!
Da DUM da DUM da DUM
Two Kinds of Sonnets
• Italian or Petrachan
Named for Petrarch, who was Italian (c.1300s)
Wyatt translated the sonnets and introduced the
form to England
• English or Shakespearean
Italian
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Octave (8)and sestet(6)
Octave: abbaabba
Sestet:cdecde,cdcdcd,cdedce
Octave: narrative
Sestet: abstract comment
Volta (turn): at line 9
Usually uses Iambic pentameter
English/Shakespearean
Sonnet
• Divided into 4 sections:
– Three quatrains (each has own rhyme scheme,
alternating lines)
– Rhymed couplet at the end (two lines)
•Iambic pentameter is usual
•Typical rhyme scheme;
ababcdcdefefgg
Holy Sonnet #10, John Donne
Death, be /not proud,/ though some /have call/ed thee/
Mighty/ and dread/ful, for/ thou art/ not so/ ;
For those/, whom thou/ think'st thou/ dost o/verthrow,
Die not/, poor Death/, nor yet/ canst thou/ kill me/.
From rest/ and sleep/, which but/ thy pic/ture[s] be/,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke ; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more ; Death, thou shalt die.
In Groups of 3
-Chose a thesis statement for this poem
-Chose three quotes to support you thesis
-EXPLAIN the quotes
(why are they significant? What do they
illustrate?)
Things to keep in mind: literary devices, context,
meaning then vs. meaning now