Brittney Walker
Professor Tucker
November 20, 2012
Genre Study: Sonnet for 11th grade
Genre Study: Sonnets
Genre Study Proposal
The genre study the students will be studying will be sonnets. The different sonnets that
the students will be studying from will be from different poets including sonnets written by
teens. The students that will be doing this unit will be in the 11 th grade. I want the students to
know the difference between a sonnet and a poem. A sonnet is a type of poem. Just like a
portrait is type of painting, or a novel is a type of book. If a person decides to do a painting,
they’ll have to decide whether it is a still-life, a portrait, a landscape, or something else. So, just
like deciding to write a poem, a person has to decide whether it is a sonnet, an ode, a limerick,
an acrostic, or something else.
A sonnet basically is just a poem with fourteen lines. There are some other rules that
make it a sonnet, but they can get quite complicated. The sonnet, however, is the most famous
and most common type of poem.
Some challenges will probably be getting the students to understand the difference
between a poem and a sonnet. A sonnet is a type of poem. Sonnets and poems do not mean
the same thing, just like portrait and painting do not mean the same thing. A painting doesn't
have to be a portrait, and a poem doesn't have to be a sonnet. I will use plenty of examples to
illustrate the differences to help the students comprehended the difference.
Rational
The district demographic area that this unit will be taught in is in Redford Michigan, at
Redford High School. The students will be in the 11th grade. As of the census of 2000, there
were 51,622 people, 20,182 households, and 13,582 families residing in the township. The
population density was 4,597.4 per square mile. There were 20,605 housing units at an average
density of 1,835.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 87.98% White,
8.54% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.57%
from other races, and 1.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 2.02%
of the population. Residents with income below the poverty level in 2009 was at 9.2%.
According the 2010 US Census, the population of Redford, Michigan decreased to 35524
from 37608 over the past 10 years. The majority ethnicity residing in Redford, Michigan is
whites, while the majority ethnicity attending the public schools is African Americans. 55.58%
of students in Redford public schools receives, or are eligible to participate in free or reduced
lunch programs.
In poetry, words are arranged to bring their essence to the front. Poetry is perhaps the
most powerful literary method of conveying an idea, an image or an opinion. All writers paint
pictures with their words. A really great poem can say more in a few verses than an entire
novel. Every tiny haiku is an amazing achievement in poetry. By studying poetry, we can take
many of those methods and lessons and apply them to all kinds of writing. I think a lot of
people don't care to study poetry because it is difficult. It involves specific devices and forms
that are not familiar, so it requires a lot of studying, understanding and appreciation.
Poetry is important because it allows people to think of life more symbolically and
meaningfully. Poetry gives a person the ability to express themselves through writing. Poetry
usually shows many ranges from humorousness to the serious struggles of human lives,
depending on the author's feelings. Writing poetry helps people to express things that they
could not express otherwise in a prose, haiku, ode, and song lyrics form. Poetry can be written
to remember how a person felt about something at a particular time. When reading poetry it's
important that people try and feel what the author is trying to express to the world. Trying to
relate to the poet is where people find the meaning of the poetry. Some poetry is as plain as
day, or some you have to really think about and try to relate to.
During this unit students will learn how each poem differs, and what they have in
common. The student will learn how to decode the poetry and find meanings from the text.
The student will also learn how to analysis the authors tone, and figure out what is being said in
the text. The students will learn the history of poetry, and who was the main people writing
poetry at that time.
CCSS
1) Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the
text leaves matters uncertain.
2) Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific
individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
3) Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines
the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines
faction in Federalist No. 10).
4) Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,
and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.
a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new
element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
b. Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text,
create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor,
simile, and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms
and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information
or explanation pre
Lesson 1
Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce what a sonnet is. The purpose is also, to
know the different forms of sonnets; as in the Petrarchan sonnet (Italian), and the
Shakespearean sonnet (English). The student will learn the history of sonnets, where they come
from, and the main poets in different eras
Preparation: Each student will be given a binder. The binder will have each sonnet that will be
studied. The folder will also have ever worksheet, every word of the week terms, a biography of
each poet that we will be discussing, glossary, and the guidelines, rubric for the student’s own
sonnet poem, and portfolio. Each student will be given a journal to keep for class and home
entries. 2 journal entries will be a requirement for the portfolio due at the end of the unit. At
the end of the week an formative assessment on the Words of the Day will be given.
Procedure:
Week 1
Day One
Students will be given their “Sonnet’s Binder”, and a journal. On the board have some questions
that the students should answer in their journals.
Questions:
Have you ever read a Sonnet? If so what was the poet’s name?
What do you know about Sonnets?
Where do you think Sonnets originated from?
What do you want to learn about Sonnets?
After students have done their journal entries, ask for volunteers to read their journal entries
out loud. Have each student open up their books to the introduction portion in the binder.
Read the introduction out aloud. The introductions will cover sonnets origins, what exactly a
sonnet is, and the different forms.
Introduction:
Elizabethan Sonnets
During the Elizabethan Age, an educated person was expected to write poetry and to be able to
recite from memory the classical poems of Greece and Rome. A favorite type of poem written
in English was the sonnet.
Shakespeare did not invent the sonnet; Petrarch, a fourteenth century poet did, but
Shakespeare has been associated with it for a long time because of the 154 sonnets he wrote.
These are considered some of the English-speaking world’s most beautiful lines. When the
term Elizabethan sonnet is used, it refers to sonnets constructed like those Shakespeare wrote.
Most sonnets consisted of single, fourteen-line poems, but sometimes Elizabethan poets would
write whole narratives in sonnet form.
Like many types of poetry, a sonnet follows a set of rules. The rules for the structure of an
Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet are as follows:
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There are 14 lines altogether.
o There are three sets of four lines, called quatrains.
o There are two lines at the end called a couplet.
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Each line contains ten syllables with every other syllable accented beginning with
the second syllable. This meter is called iambic pentameter.
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The sonnet has this formal rhyme scheme:
abab
cdcd
efef
gg
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The sonnet also has a thematic structure.
o One option is that the first two quatrains set up a problem, the third
quatrain begins to answer the problem, and the ending couplet solves the
problem. The couplet can be considered a sort of punch line.
o Alternatively, the poet introduces his topic in the first quatrain and covers
two or three aspects of the topic in the quatrains. He wraps up his discussion
in the couplet.
o The poet can introduce a topic in the first quatrain, present two opposite
views in the second and third quatrain (ie set up an antithesis), and choose
between them in the couplet.
o Finally the poet can put events in chronological order with a finale.
The students will then be put in groups to work cooperatively. The students will look at an
example of a sonnet called “The Sea Love”, written by a 10th grade English class. I will read the
poem out loud. I then will select a student to read the sonnet aloud once more, then silently to
themselves. Students will be asked to do discuss what they feel like the poet is saying in the
sonnet. What stands out to them?
The Sea of Love
Today I saw that girl upon the rock.
At the time I was in my little boat,
When I realized that it could not float.
I tried to take off my red and white sock,
But then I saw the girl swim to the dock.
I want to give her the poem I wrote,
But it was eaten today by the goat.
He looked at my sock, and ran in the flock.
In the night we danced under the bright star,
That brought me and my love under a tree,
And all Mary did was talk about me.
Our love did carry us so very far,
That I walked right into the cold water,
And steam came out of the hole in my heart.
Written By 10th grade English Class
Homework:
Work of the Day work sheet
Thematic Structure
Define:
Paraphrase definition:
Create a sentence:
Quatrains
Define:
Paraphrase definition:
Create a sentence:
Couplets
Define:
Paraphrase definition:
Create a sentence:
Day 2
Journal entry will be a free verse poem on the theme of love. When the students are done, ask
for a few volunteers to share their work. After the students get done sharing their poems have
the students turn to the Words of the Day page in their binders. We will go over the words of
the day in class. Each student will find the definition, paraphrase the word, and use it in a
sentence. When the students are done with their worksheet I will call on a student to give me
their answers to the questions. Explain to each student why it’s important to study these words
of the day’s, because at the end of the week there will be some type of assessment. We will
then go over the words importance to sonnets, and show examples using “What Makes up a
Sonnet?” page in the binder. After this the students will turn to the “Poetry Project” page in
their binders. At the end of this unit each student will be writing their own sonnets, and
submitting a portfolio. Read the instructions aloud.
Words of the Week
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Repetition
Personification
Hyperbole
Imagery
Contraction
Iambic Pentameter Line
Figurative Language (Simile and Metaphor)
What Makes Up a Sonnet?
Repetition:
"So long as I live I'll remember this
So long as I dream, I'll dream of your kiss."
Personification:
"love is running out the door"
Simile:
"Our love had run down just like our old car."
"She looks like bacon"
Hyperbole:
"My love for you is as high as the sky"
Imagery:
"crushed heart"
"times of passion"
"You in the meadow"
Simulated Archaic Language:
"the fight would becometh very wild"
Contraction:
"will ne'er be dead"
"I shan't say no."
Iambic Pentameter Line:
"You have the nice and pretty female look."
"Your love for me is running out the door."
POETRY PROJECT: WRITING A SONNET
Objectives:
 To select a theme for your poem
 To compose the sonnet following the correct rhyme scheme and keeping with your
theme
 To write primarily in iambic pentameter
1. Choose a subject for your sonnet. Some likely subjects are love, friendship, growing up,
love lost, or a sport or anything that is important to you.
2. Decide upon a theme or message on your general subject that you wish to communicate
in your poem.
3. Plan your structure. The problem-then-solution structure is one possibility, or plan your
content flow in another logical manner (see “Elizabethan Sonnets” worksheet).
4. Write the sonnet with care to respect the required rhyme scheme for your fourteen lines.
Keep in iambic pentameter as much as possible. Even if you don’t have a pure string of
iambs, keep a strict ten syllables per line. A useful website to help with your rhyming are
http://www.rhymezone.com/.
5. Decide on a title for your sonnet. It could hint at the subject or be a statement of your
theme.
6. Your poem may have a clever twist, particularly in the ending, but keep your tone and
treatment of your subject serious.
7. Refection on the process of writing the sonnet. What is the rose and thorn of this
procedure? What was the best and worst part of writing this sonnet?
GRADING RUBRIC
Fourteen lines of poetry (or more)
Sonnet format
Logical structure
Two examples of figurative language (such as metaphor, simile)
Appropriate title
Proper usage of quatrains and couplets
Rhyming Scheme
Reflection included
TOTAL
______/14
______/5
______/5
______/8
______/1
______/5
______/4
______/1
______/45 pts
Day 3
Begin class with Words of the day, after students are done go over each word. When finished
have students turn to the “History of Sonnets” in their binder. Have students read out loud.
When the students are done have them write in their journals about their reflections. Have
them write about what they have learned about the history. Have a few volunteers to read
what they wrote.
Homework: Complete the “Rhyming Page” in the binder.
Rhyming Page
Directions: Shakespearean sonnet rhyme pattern is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. Write a word for each
letter below to rhyme with the same letter in the column.
For example:
A) Little
B) Time
A) Brittle
B) Rhyme
A__________________
B__________________
A__________________
B__________________
C________________
D________________
C________________
D________________
E_____________
F_____________
E_____________
F_____________
G___________
G___________
Words of the Day:
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Octave
Aseslet
Volta
Petrarchan
Shakespearean
A Short History of the Sonnet
Invented in Italy in the thirteenth century, the sonnet was brought to a high form of
development in the fourteenth century by Francesco Petrarch (1304–74), Italian poet and
humanist best remembered now for his sonnets dedicated to an idealized lady named Laura
glimpsed in a church, and with whom he fell in love at first sight, or so the legend goes.
Laura’s true identity is unknown; supposedly, she married someone else and, being ideally
virtuous as well as beautiful, was permanently unavailable. There’s no evidence Petrarch ever
talked to her.
The uses Petrach made of the conventions of courtly love for a beautiful, unattainable lady
became known as “Petrarchan conventions.” Some of these are that love is excruciatingly
painful; the angelically beautiful and virtuous lady is cruel in rejecting the poet’s love; and
love is a religion, the practice of which ennobles the lover. Christian and classical imagery
coexist. The god of Love, Cupid, is unpredictable, powerful, and cruel. The eyes are the
“windows to the soul,” and love usually begins at first sight. The poet is subject to extremes
of feeling and internal conflict—the “war within the self.” Life is short and art, fortunately, is
long. The poetry will outlive the poet.
Sir Thomas Wyatt (1502–42) and Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey (1517–47), are
credited with introducing the Petrarchan model to England in the sixteenth century and
adjusting the rhyme scheme and the meter to accommodate the English language. They, like
Petrarch, use religious imagery and terms to convey the holiness and intensity of the lover’s
passion for the unattainable love-object and make frequent allusions to both classical deities
and Christian symbols.
This model exerted a strong influence on numerous English Renaissance poets:
Spenser, Sidney, Sidney’s brilliant niece Mary Wroth, among others, and of course,
Shakespeare himself. Writing sonnet sequences became popular among gentlemen, and
these poems were often circulated in manuscript form, evidently including Shakespeare’s.
Publication was not generally considered gentlemanly or ladylike.
Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets published in 1609 are a “collection” rather than a
sequence, although there are some groupings that look like mini-sequences. And they are
remarkably various: Shakespeare explores the same theme in different ways but never
exactly repeats a pattern. He is keenly aware of Petrarchan conventions and often uses them,
but just as often upends them, as in Sonnet 130. The cruel loved one in many of his sonnets is
a young man, not a woman, and the “Dark Lady” of sonnets 127–152 is neither virtuous nor
ideally beautiful. Shakespeare’s Sonnets represented a kind of apogée of the English sonnetwriting fashion, and, in fact, may have contributed to the vogue’s fading away, since no one
could outdo him or even come close to matching his skill and versatility.
The sonnet has proved to be a remarkably durable and adaptable form—a “fixed
form” that is, paradoxically, enormously flexible. Although no one has ever equaled
Shakespeare’s sonnets, nearly every notable poet writing in English has had a go at a sonnet
or two. Among the best-known British writers of sonnets are John Donne, Milton,
Wordsworth, W.H. Auden, and Dylan Thomas.
The form survived the transatlantic crossing. Distinguished American practitioners
include Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Crowe Ransom, as well as significant
African-American and Caribbean-American poets, such as James Weldon Johnson, Paul
Laurence Dunbar, Countee Cullen, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden, Derek Walcott,
Marilyn Nelson, and Claude McKay.
The sonnet can be a lens through which to look at poetry over the last 400 years.
Day 4:
Have students write in their journals about the rhyming exercise they did for homework. Did
they like it? Was it easy or hard for them to find rhyming words? Do they feel like rhyming is
important for a poem? After they complete it have a few students share with the class what
they wrote. Go over what meters, and stanzas are. After that, do the “Rhyming Page” with the
whole class. Write the Shakespearean form on the board and complete with the class. After all
the letters have been filled end. Have students get in groups. Have each group create sentences
using the words that were selected by the class, to create a sonnet. Each group will share their
sonnets with the class.
Homework:
Study for their matching test on the Words of the Week.
Day 5:
Students will be given their test as soon as class begins.
Assessment: Students will be given a matching test on the words that was given to them from
the “Words of the Day”. The test will have the words from the week, and its definition in
mismatch order, and the student has to put them in the correct order. Each question will be
worth 1 point.
After the students are done with their test they will then pass it to their neighbors to grade. We
will go over the answers together. After that is done we will watch a video on iambic
Pentameters.(http://www.shakespeareinamericanlife.org/education/schooldays/iambicpentam
eter.cfm) The video shows how iambic pentameters works, we will do the same class
demonstration in class.
Homework: Read the first sonnet on their list. “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge,
September 3, 1802” by William Wordsworth.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Sonnets
“Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” by William Wordsworth
“Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet 10) by John Donne
“How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“Leda and the Swan” by William Butler Yeats
“Mowing” by Robert Frost
“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (Sonnet 130) by William Shakespeare
“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” by John Keats
9. “The Oven Bird” by Robert Frost
10. “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
11. “Putting in the Seed” by Robert Frost
12. “Range-finding” by Robert Frost
13. “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” (Sonnet 18) by William Shakespeare
14. “the sonnet-ballad” by Gwendolyn Brooks
15. “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” by John Milton
16. “The world is too much with us; late and soon” by William Wordsworth
17. “The Oven Bird” by Robert Frost
18. “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden
19. “If We must Die” by Claude McKay,
20. “I Shall Forget You” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Teen Ink Sonnets
21. “You and Me” by bluemagnet22
22. “The Sport Sonnet” by Sebrina444
23. “The Storm of Change” by Elkay
24. “I remember” by luckeylina
25. “Deevolution” by Lessa Q.
Lesson 2
Purpose: To analyze and understand the different sonnets. The purpose is to explore the
different themes and ideas of the sonnets. The students will learn terms describing the
elements of sonnets. Students will recognize ways in which the poet uses language, structure,
and form to create and shape meanings and effects of the sonnets.
Preparation: The students will read and understand the first 5 sonnets assigned out of the 20.
There will be a binary choice test after this lesson. There will be true and false questions from
the first 5 sonnets cover during that week.
Procedure:
Week 2
Day 6
Read “the sonnet-ballad” by Gwendolyn Brooks, aloud to the class. Begin discussion of the
poem by asking students what stands out to them about the poem. Have the student’s journal
what they remember, feel, and questions they have, when they read and hear the poem. Then
ask the students to share personal experiences, emotions, and beliefs that influenced their
reaction. Ask students if the poem recalls memories and how it connects to their own attitudes
or perceptions. Then put student in a group and ask them to point out specific words and lines
in the poem that triggered their reactions. Work to shift students’ attention to the details and
features of the poem by asking them what word, phrase, image, or idea were important to their
reactions. Students will share their answers.
Homework: Read the second poem on the list “Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet 10) by John
Donne. Have the students write in their journals about their feelings about the sonnet. What
did it say to them, how did it make them feel, and what is the speaker saying in the sonnet.
Day 7
Have students write in their journals about the sonnet they read for homework. Then pass out
copies of the Sonnet Characteristics Chart. Model the process of recording characteristics for a
sonnet, using the Brooks’ poem. Arrange students into five group sand have the read and
record data for the poem that they read for homework. When students have completed their
analysis of the sonnet, ask them to look over their charts and draw some preliminary
conclusions about the sonnet.
Sonnet Characteristics Chart
Sonnet Title:
Number of Lines:
Number of Stanzas:
Number of Lines per Stanza:
Rhyme Scheme:
Meter:
Other:
Observations:
Based on your observations, what can you conclude about sonnets?
Homework: Have the students read sonnet 3, “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett
Browning, also read “You and Me” by bluemagnet22 from TeenInk. Have the students write in
their journals about their feelings about the sonnets. What did it say to them, how did it make
them feel, and what is the speaker saying in the sonnet.
Day 8
Have students write in their journals about the first three poems and the one from TeenInk,
what they liked about them and why. What they disliked about them and why? What
similarities did they have and what differences they had. Have a few students share with the
class their entry. Write their responses on the board. Read “How Do I Love Thee?” out loud. Put
students in groups and have them answer questions about the poem and its form. The question
is what are the language devices employed by the poet and why are they effective? Find any
two quotations on love and discuss why you find the words appealing? Read responses out
loud.
Homework: Read sonnet 4, “Leda and the Swan” by William Butler Yeats, also “The Sport
Sonnet” by Sebrina444 in TeenInk, and use the “Sonnet Characteristics Chart” for both sonnets.
Day 9
Have the students write in their journals about “Leda and the Swan” and “The Sport Sonnet”.
Have them write about their feelings about the sonnets. What did it say to them, how did it
make them feel, and what is the speaker saying in the sonnet. Then have a few students share
what they wrote. Cover the biography of Yeats, have the students turn to his biography in their
binders. Call on students to read it out loud. Discuss the elements of the poem with the
students, and discuss the “Characteristics Chart” the students did on the sonnet. Then place
students in a group and have them answer these questions, the question that ends the poem,
does Leda have access to the god’s knowledge as she experiences his power, it calls to mind the
nuances of “knowing.” If Leda “knows” the god sexually, does she also “know” his mind? Share
answers with the class.
William Butler Yeats 1865-1939
William Butler Yeats's mythology, from which arises the distilled symbolism of his great
period, is not always easy to understand, nor did Yeats intend its full meaning to be
immediately apparent to those unfamiliar with his thought and the tradition in which he
worked. His own cyclic view of history suggested to him a recurrence and convergence of
images, so that they become multiplied and enriched; and this progressive enrichment may
be traced throughout his work. Among Yeats's dominant images are Leda and the Swan;
Helen and the burning of Troy; the Tower in its many forms; the sun and moon; the burning
house; cave, thorn tree, and well; eagle, heron, sea gull, and hawk; blind man, lame man, and
beggar; unicorn and phoenix; and horse, hound, and boar. Yet these traditional images are
continually validated by their alignment with Yeats's own personal experience, and it is this
that gives them their peculiarly vital quality. In Yeats's verse they are often shaped into a
strong and proud rhetoric and into the many poetic tones of which he was the master. All are
informed by the two qualities which Yeats valued and which he retained into old age—
passion and joy.
Relevant Background
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WB Yeats was born in 1865 in Dublin. His parents were John Butler Yeats, a portrait
painter, and Susan Pollexfen. His family was upper class, Protestant and of Anglo-Irish
descent. His ancestors were church rectors.
The Yeats family had aspirations to maintain its wealth and traditions and this shaped
WB Yeats and his poetry.
At the age of two, Yeats moved with his family to London, where they remained for
Yeat’s childhood. He developed an affinity with Sligo because he spent a lot of
summers with his mother’s family there. At the age of sixteen, Yeat’s family moved
back to Dublin.
Yeats was born into a family context that respected culture and art. Besides his father
being an artist, his brother Jack B. Yeats became Ireland’s most famous painter. Yeats
received tuition at the School of Art in Dublin from 1884 to 1886. There he gained an
interest in mysticism and the supernatural.
As he reached manhood, much of his education consisted of private tuition and
reading. This accounts for the extreme individualism found in his poetry.
He became interested in Hinduism and the occult. During his life, he developed
interests in theosophy, ancient civilisations, psychic power, spiritualism, magic,
eastern religions and the supernatural. He sought symbols for his poetry in these
topics. These symbols account for the difficulty of some of his poetry, especially his
later work.
He became a supporter of Irish Nationalism because of his friendship with John
O'Leary, a Fenian, and Maud Gonne, a keen Irish Nationalist.
He built up a relationship with Maud through theatre work and developed a futile lifelong love for her. Maud was unusually beautiful. He expressed his frustrated love for
Maud indirectly in many of his poems, often through an image of a woman with
yellow hair.
Yeats frequently proposed marriage to Maud but was rejected every time.
In 1903 Maud Gonne married the Irish Nationalist, Major John MacBride who was
executed in 1916 following the Easter Rising. This marriage caused Yeats to become
bitter at Mc Bride and Gonne over his unrequited love for her.
Yeats befriended an aristocratic benefactor, Lady Gregory, in 1896 on a visit to Coole
Park in Galway. Lady Gregory, a nationalist playwright, became Yeats’ assistant and
mentor in publishing his poetry and founding the Abbey Theatre.
Drama and Literature served Yeats as a cultural vehicle to express his views; in Yeats
early years, culture transcended politics. The Abbey Theatre produced plays by Yeats
and new writers like John Millington Synge.
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The Abbey Theatre, which briefly became a cultural and political influence like Yeats
had dreamed, suffered major criticism from its nationalist Catholic audience. A
narrow-minded reaction to the Abbey's production of Synge's ‘Playboy of the Western
World’ (1907) closed down the theatre. Yeats grew disillusioned with the ignorance
and conservative cultural attitudes of Dubliners. His writings expressed his
disenchantment.
Yeats' early work reflects three themes: nature, the struggle for Irish independence,
and his unrequited love for Maud Gonne.
Up to about 1909 Yeats involved himself in the Anglo-Irish Literary Revival when he
wrote plays and lyrical, symbolic poems on the myths, folk tales and legends of the
Celtic era. He depicted soft focus or pastoral rural settings. He saw poetry both as art
and as a form of escapism. ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’ (1893) provides evidence of his
escapist tendency.
Then came the so-called mature and realistic phase of poetry, in which his poems
were influenced by his diverse studies, Irish society, Irish rebellion, nationalism and
the quest for Irish independence. Maud Gonne, although married to Major John Mc
Bride, remained an influence. Yeats eventual acceptance of the role of politics in
society was indicated by the poem ‘Easter 1916’.
In 1917 Yeats married Georgie Hyde-Lees. She claimed to write under the guidance of
spirits, a gift known as automatic writing. Yeats used her spiritual writing as material
for his theories and poetry.
With her help, he wrote ‘A Vision’, an unusual philosophical work about mysticism
and his bizarre concept of cycles of history. The book helped to explain the obscure
symbolism of his later works. It presented the dualities often expressed in his later
poetry: objectivity and subjectivity, art and life, soul and body.
Following the founding of the Free State, Yeats became a senator. He turned to
practical politics, serving in the Senate of the new Irish Free State from 1922 to 1928.
WB Yeats’ final phase, old age, contains a lot of self-critical and ironical poetry. He
criticised his body and his life as well as his poetic craft.
In 1923, he received the Nobel Prize for literature.
Yeats experienced various illnesses in the last 15 years of his life but he composed
poetry until he died in 1939. Yeats died in France and was buried in Sligo.
Homework: Read sonnet 5, “Mowing” by Robert Frost, “The Storm of Change” by Elkay, “I
remember” by luckeylina, and “Deevolution” by Lessa Q. Have the students write in their
journals about their feelings about the sonnets. What did it say to them, how did it make them
feel, and what is the speaker saying in the sonnet, and how the modern sonnets differ and are
similar to the other sonnets covered.
Day 10
Assessment: Begin class with the binary choice test on the first 5 sonnets that was covered.
There will be 5 questions that are in true and false form; each question is worth 1 point. After
the students are done have them pass them to the front of the classroom and then past them
back out to a different student to grade.
Then have the students to take out all their “Characteristic Chart” and discuss their observations
that students have found. Have students read through their observations and ask students to suggest
what the 5 sonnets have in common and how they differ. Work toward a class description that fits all
the poems; then find two more detailed definitions, based on the differences you noticed. Have the
students turn to the page of the “Formal Names for the Sonnets” in their binder. With the poetic forms
identified, read “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (Sonnet 130) by William Shakespeare to the
class. Have the students return to the observation chart to confirm the kind sonnet the poem is.
Formal Name for Sonnets
Sonnet Form
Rhyme Scheme
Italian or Petrarchan
abbaabba cde cde
abbaabba cc dd ee
abbaabba cdcd ee
Spenserian
abab bcbc cdcd ee
English or Shakespearean
abab cdcd efef gg
Lesson 3
Purpose: To continue developing an appreciation for poetry and the views expressed by poets.
To recognize that poems do raise universal questions, which is worthwhile contemplating.
Preparation: Students will be covering sonnets 6-10 during this week. Students will be given a
multiple choice assessment to check for understanding of the unit.
Procedure:
Week 3
Day 11
Have class write in their journals about “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (Sonnet
130) by William Shakespeare. How it made them feel, what is the poet expressing, and how
does the poet feel. Have the students return to the observation chart to confirm the kind
sonnet the poem is. With the form of the poem confirmed, turn to the poem’s message by
asking students what stands out to them about the poem. Ask them what they remember, feel,
question, and see when they read and hear. Ask students to share personal experiences,
emotions, and beliefs that influenced their reaction. Ask students if the poem recalls memories
and how it connects to their own attitudes or perceptions. Ask students to point to specific
words and lines in the poem that triggered their reactions. Work to shift students’ attention to
the details and features of the poem by asking them what word, phrase, image, or idea was
important to their reactions. Be sure that students notice the contrast and opposition that are
important to the poem’s meaning. If students need a focused exploration of the ideas, ask them
to go through the poem and create a shared list of things that the speaker describes that the
described lady’s features are and are not.
Homework: Have students read the 7th sonnet on the list, “The New Colossus” by Emma
Lazarus, and have them do a “Characteristic Chart”.
Day 12
Have students write in their journals about their thought and opinions on “The New Colossus”
by Emma Lazarus. When they’re done have a few students share their writing. After that ask
students to look at Lazarus sonnet as a model for their own writing. Write the first line of the
poem on the board: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” On a different area of the
board, rewrite the first line of the poem with some of the words removed and with the number
of beats written below:
______________________ is/are nothing like _______________
4 beats
2 beats
Ask students to brainstorm nouns or noun phrases that can fill in the first blank. As students
share ideas, list the alternatives on the board. To get students started, you can share some
options of your own such as “My mother’s pies,” “The football game,” “McDonald’s fries,” and
“My P. E. class.” The options do NOT need to rhyme with the original. The goal is to match the
rhythm. Compare the brainstormed items to the original phrase, removing any items from the
list that do not match the rhythm. Use this process to discuss the metrical differences between
phrases that match and those that don’t. Explain that students can change the verb to match
the meaning of their poem. If desired, brainstorm a list of options (e.g., is, are, was, were). Next
ask students to brainstorm a list of words, this time for the second blank. Get started by sharing
some possible answers such as “a ham,” “my chair,” “the tape,” and “her cake.” Focus students’
attention on brainstorming based on the meter, without worrying about how the noun phrases
match up to the items that they have brainstormed for the first blank. Once the students
understand the activity, give them the rest of the session to work on their own sonnets,
imitating “The New Colossus.” Remind students that in addition to matching the rhythm of the
original poem, their work should also match the rhyme scheme.
Homework: 8. Read sonnets,“On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” by John Keats,“The Oven Bird”
by Robert Frost, and “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, fill out the “Characteristic Chart” for each
sonnet.
Day 13
Have students’ journal about the three poems they read for homework. How it made them feel,
what is the poet expressing, and how does the poet feel. Have a few students read out loud
what they wrote. Put students into a group and give them a list of sonnets that the class
discussed. Each group will have to select 4 sonnets and complete this “Sonnet Search Sheet”.
After each group is finish each group will share with the class.
SONNET SEARCH SHEET – EXAMINING SONNET SAMPLES
Title and Author
Year
What’s the sonnet about?
Your thoughts on the
poem’s exploration of topic
Patterns
Explore the patterns in the various sonnets you examined. With your group, develop a list of at
least six rules for sonnets. Don’t worry about being “right,” just make sure that you base your
conclusions on actual observations. Write your six rules and how you figured them out in the
space below. Be prepared to explain your findings to the class!
Homework: Read Putting in the Seed” by Robert Frost Range-finding,” by Robert Frost, and
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” And have the students fill out the “Characteristic
Chart”
Day 14
Have the students write about the sonnets they read for homework in their journals, and have
them share with the class. Ask a student to write the rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean
sonnet on the board, vertically: abab cdcd efef gg. Number the lines. Explain the process by
which the students will create a sonnet. First, come up with two pairs of rhyming one-syllable
words for the first quatrain (day/dark pray/spark, for example) and place them at the ends of
the first 4 lines. Work with the students to compose iambic pentameter lines to precede each
of the end rhymes. One person is the scribe who writes the lines on the board. The lines may be
nonsense at first, but the group can work to tweak them into making sense (In the process, the
end rhymes may be altered). The same process is applied to the second quatrain, the third, and
the couplet. Once there are 14 lines on the board, ask students to collectively edit the result.
Read the group sonnet chorally. Have students start writing individual sonnets of their own,
drawing on their journal entry.
Homework: Read “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” by John Milton,“The world is too
much with us; late and soon” by William Wordsworth, “The Oven Bird” by Robert Frost.
Day 15
Assessment: Students will be given a multiple choice assessment on the sonnets that were
previously covered. After the assessment is given, the students will pass it to the front to be
collected. Then I will past them back out to another student to be graded. We will go over each
answer.
After this is done discuss the final project once more. Explain that each sonnet written by the
students will be put together in a book, and at the end of the unit shared at family night.
Explain what should be in the portfolio and due dates. Give them the “Sonnet Plan Worksheet”
to get them started with their sonnets.
Name ___________________________________ Date ___________________ Block ______
SONNET PLAN WORKSHEET
My theme or personal message will be
_______________________________________________
My stanzas will contain this:
Q1. _________________________________________________________________________
Q2. _________________________________________________________________________
Q3. _________________________________________________________________________
Coup _______________________________________________________________________
Homework: Read “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, “If We must Die” by Claude
McKay, “I Shall Forget You” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. How it made them feel, what is the poet
expressing, and how does the poet feel.
Portfolio
Required Material: 3 journal entries from your journal
___/6
Selected Material: Any material you select to be in there (Free verse poem, journal entry,
worksheet, or another sonnet found online)
___/4
Sonnet: The sonnet you created for the final “Sonnet Project”
___/6
Reflection: Reflection on the unit, “The Thorn and the Rose,” What you did like and didn’t
like.
___/4
Lesson 4
Purpose: To create their own sonnets from everything they’ve learned and experienced.
Preparation: Students will have 3 days to complete their sonnets. They will have two workshop
days to complete it, and to start their portfolio.
Procedure:
Week 4
Day 16
Have the students fill out the “Characteristic Chart” for the sonnet that they read for
homework. Have the students share what they wrote in their journals about the sonnets. Give
them the rest of the time to finish their sonnets.
Homework: Finish their sonnets
Day 17
Workshop Day finish up sonnets and start portfolios.
Day 18
Workshop day, we will be doing “Author’s Chair”. Each student will sit in the authors chair and
read their sonnets. Afterward each student will give the author feedback using the “Sonnet
Peer Edit Sheet”.
Poet’s Name _____________________________ Editor’s Name__________________________
Sonnet Peer Edit Sheet
Using an editing pen or pencil, mark up the following:
1. Count the number of syllables in each line and write the number to the left of the line.
2. Circle any words that violate the iambic pentameter rhythm of the line.
3. Check that the sonnet has the correct rhyme scheme and make notes if there are any errors.
Q1,
Q2__________________________________________________________________________
Q3,
Coup_________________________________________________________________________
4. Theme: Write the sonnet’s theme
__________________________________________________
Does it stick to the message? y/n Comments
__________________________________________
5. Structure: Does the poem flow? y/n
Does it have a title? y/n
Comments:
______________________________________________________________________
Day 19
Work on revisions, and portfolios.
Day 20
Family and Friends Day, The students will share all their hard work with their family and friends.
Assessment: Everything must be turned in to get full credit for the portfolio.