SHAKESPEARE AND SONNETS
Miss Johnson
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day …”
- William Shakespeare
SHAKESPEARE OR HIP HOP
1. To destroy the beauty from which one came.
Can I Live, Sean Carter, Jay-Z
2. Maybe it’s hatred I spew, maybe it’s food for the spirit
Renegade, Emenem
3. Man would rather use their broken weapons than their bare hands.
Othello, Shakespeare
4. I was not born under a rhyming planet.
Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare
5. The most benevolent king communicates through your dreams.
RZA, Wu-Tang Clan
6. Socrates, philosophies and hypotheses can’t define.
Wu-Tang Forever, Inspectah Deck, Wu-Tang Clan
SHAKESPEARE AND HIP HOP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSbtkLA3GrY
3:48-7:50
Pay attention for the meaning of Iambic
Pentameter and why it is used.
A DEFINITIONS
A Sonnet is a “lyric poem
of 14 lines, commonly written in
iambic pentameter” (Allen, 2008).
The word “Sonnet” came
from the Italian word sonetto,
“which means ‘a little sound or
song’” (Poetry.org)
There are two main types
of sonnets:
-Petrarchan Sonnets
-Shakespearean Sonnets
Photo credit: [Sonnet 55] blogspot retrtieved on 3/16/2015 from
blogspot.com
DEFINITIONS
Rhyme Scheme is the “pattern
of end rhymes in a poem” (Allen,
2008).
A Stanza is a “group of two or
more lines that forma unit in a poem”
(Allen, 2008). In a sense, a stanza in a
poem is equivalent to a paragraph in a
prose text.
A Volta is the “turn of thought
or argument” (poetry foundation).
Volta is the Italian word for “turn” and
this is usually the point in the poem
where the tone changes.
Photo Credit: [Sonnet 129] hankwhittemore retrieved on
3/15/2015 from hankwhittemore.wordpress.com
DEFINITION
Iambic Pentameter is a “metrical pattern of five feet, or units, each of
which is made up of two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed”
(Allen, 2008).
Feet are the “basic unit of measurement” (poetryfoundation). In this
case, the foot will contain one unstressed syllable and one stressed syllable.
PETRARCHAN SONNETS
 Also known as the Italian Sonnet
 An octave
A Sestet
 Rhyme Scheme
abba, abba, cdecde
 Volta “occurs between the eigth
and ninth lines” (Poets.org)
Photo Credit: [Petrarch] italian tribune retrieved on 3/15/2015
from italiantribune com
PETRARCHAN SONNETS

Also known as the Italian
Sonnet

An octave
A Sestet

Rhyme Scheme
abba, abba, cdecde

Volta “occurs between the
eigth and ninth lines”
(Poets.org)
Photo Credit: [The petrarchan Sonnet]
youtube retreived on 3/15/2015 from
youtube.com
SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET
 Also known as the Elizabethan
Sonnet
 3 quatrains
1 couplet
 Rhyme Scheme
Abab cdcd efef gg
 The Volta occurs between line 12
and line 13.
Photo Credit: [Shakespeare] wikipedia.org retrievd
on 3/15/2015 from wikimedia.org
SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET
Sonet 27
 Also known as the
Elizabethan Sonnet
 3 quatrains
1 couplet
 Rhyme Scheme
Abab cdcd efef gg
 The Volta occurs
between line 12 and
line 13.
SONNET 18
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Identify the rhyme scheme (abab etc)
Divide and number the stanzas
Paraphrase each line
Scansion at least two lines
Identify the Volta
Identify the tone or argument before the Volta and the change after
Identify any other elements of figurative language; for example: similes,
metaphors, assonance, consonance, etc
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Identify the rhyme scheme (abab etc)
Divide and number the stanzas
Paraphrase each line
Scansion at least two lines
Identify the Volta
Identify the tone or argument before the Volta and the change after
Identify any other elements of figurative language; for example: similes,
metaphors, assonance, consonance, etc
RESOURCES
Academy of American Poets. (2004). Poetic Form: Sonnet. Retrieved from http://
www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/poetic-form-sonnet
Allen, J., et al. (2008). McDougal Little Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal
Little.
Glossary Terms (2015). Poetry Foundation. Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute. Retrieved
from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/search-glossary-terms?
q=feet