Elements of a Sonnet
Why do we read Shakespeare?
The stories are timeless: it doesn’t
matter when they are told.
Modern versions
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare’s influence
Today’s songs, books, poems, and
stories ALL use themes that were
uncommon BEFORE Shakespeare
but became common AFTER.
Seminal artists (musicians, actors,
politicians, historical figures, etc.)
• Write down FIVE seminal people and
explain WHY each person could be
considered seminal.
Reading poetry
When reading poetry, stop at punctuation,
which will not always be at the end of the
line. In addition, use the punctuation to
assist with proper inflection.
Rhymes
• Some of the rhymes (heart/start,
love/above, fire/desire) have become
rhyme clichés that one hears in most pop
songs
• When these sonnets were written, those
rhymes were uncommon.
What is a sonnet?
• A 14-line verse form usually having one of
several conventional rhyme schemes
• Shakespearean (or Elizabethan) sonnets
contain three quatrains and one couplet
• Quatrain: a group of four lines
• Couplet: two lines
• Label the quatrains and couplet before you
begin reading a sonnet.
What is a sonnet? (more!)
• Each line of a sonnet has 10 syllables
• Iambic pentameter
• Five "feet" or "measures" of iambic verse.
• An “iamb” is one of the “weak STRONG”
units used to build a line of iambic
pentameter. “Penta” means five.
Therefore, iambic pentameter is a line of
verse that has FIVE iambs.
• Each line has 10 syllables divided into
groups of two.
What is a sonnet? (concluded)
• The accent or stress is on the second of
the two syllables.
• Imagine a heartbeat (which is actually two
beats, not one)
• Example:
• For brave Macbeth -- well he deserves
that name
• "For brave" equals one measure or foot of
iambic verse, or one iamb
Rhyme Scheme
• Elizabethan sonnet is always:
• ABAB
CDCD
EFEF
GG
• There are other types of sonnets and we
may cover some of those later in this brief
unit.
Sight rhymes
• Oftentimes, the poet will do a sight rhyme.
• "Heat" and "sweat" do not rhyme, but they
look like they might.
Slant rhymes
• Words that don’t rhyme, but share some of
the same sounds.
• “Girl” and “world”
Labeling your poem
What is the rhyme scheme? Look at the last
word in each line. The first line will always
be assigned the letter “A,” as that is the
first letter. For subsequent lines, look back
to the line(s) that came before it in order to
determine if a line rhymes with that line.
Whenever there is a rhyme, the lines that
rhyme get the same letter.
Vocabulary
Go through the poem and identify
vocabulary words with which you are not
familiar
Speaker of the poem
• Please do not EVER say that the speaker
of the poem is the author! Describe the
person.
• Is it a man or a woman (sex of the
author)?
• To whom or what is the author speaking or
referring?
• Explanation should be only one sentence
Topic of the poem
• What the poem is LITERALLY about
• Do not interpret (at this point)
• Explanation should be three sentences
(one sentence for each quatrain). The first
sentence should not be the same as the
sentence for the speaker of the poem.
Theme (or message)
• Message usually can be found in the
couplet (the last two lines). It should be a
message that is not only applicable to the
poem, but is also a lesson of life.
• Explanation is one SHORT sentence: think
BUMPER STICKER LENGTH. Still
confused?
Theme (continued)
What is Nike’s slogan?
What is Gatorade’s slogan?
What is the slogan for McDonald’s?
Theme (concluded)
• The message is usually something “big
picture” Remember, it is something that is
applicable to things other than just the
poem
• Examples:
• You can’t always get what you want
• Only love can break your heart