Tuesday, January 20th
Please pick up the handout from the front and
then take out a notebook for some notes today.
Standards
• Demonstrate understanding of figurative language,
word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
– Interpret figures of speech in context and analyze their
role in the text.
– Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar
denotations.
• Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including determining technical, connotative,
and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific
word choices shape meaning or tone.
Today’s Outcomes
• Understand the brief history of a sonnet as well
as the components of a sonnet
• Practice explication steps with Sonnet 18
Looking forward…we will spend the next week and
half working on sonnets. You will have another
paper to write and some lines to memorize (all for
a grade). Please make sure that you are here.
History of the sonnet
• Originally started in Italy in the 13th Century
• The word “sonnet” means little song
• There are two kinds: Petrarchan and
Shakespearean
– Shakespearean sonnets are written in iambic
pentameter (a term for measurement), but the
Petrarchan sonnet was not.
• William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets
Components of a sonnet
• 14 lines
• Each line consists of 10 syllables
– Shakespeare would add or take away a syllable to make the word
fit altering the pronunciation of the word; sometimes he would
add an 11th syllable, breaking the rule
• Every other syllable in the line is stressed to give it a
rhythm that sounds like da-DUM, da-DUM
• Written in iambic pentameter (a term for a measurement)
• Broken into 3 quatrains
– A quatrain is a group of 4 lines
• The last 2 lines are called a couplet. These two lines rhyme
• Rhyme scheme for a Shakespearean sonnet:
abab, cdcd, efef, gg
Ideas in Shakespeare’s sonnets
• In a sonnet, two related but differing things are shown to
the reader in order to communicate an idea about them
• Relationships
– Range of emotions about love. How great love can be, how bad
love can be, and everything in between!
• In his sonnets he uses vivid imagery, similes, metaphors etc.
to convey his message about love and relationships
• Since he is telling a story in each sonnet, he employed the
use of a Volta
– Volta: a turn or twist
• In Shakespeare’s sonnets, there would be a turn/twist in
the middle (lines 8 or 9) or at the couplet (the last 2 lines)
that would create the tension of ideas; it acts as a surprise
ending
Quick Check:
Label the sonnet components on this
example!
• The Quatrains
• The Couplet
• The Volta
• The Rhyme Scheme
Let’s check to make sure we
have the same sonnet
components on this example!
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
Couplet (lines 13-14)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
Couplet (lines 13-14)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
Couplet (lines 13-14)
Volta-look for transition words such as: but,
therefore, however, yet, or, so. These words
are a good place to start.
Let’s label the rhyme scheme
for this example!
(sun)
(red)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
(dun)
(head)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
Couplet (lines 13-14)
Volta-look for transition words such as: but,
therefore, however, yet, or, so. These words
are a good place to start.
A (sun)
B (red)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
A (dun)
B (head)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
Couplet (lines 13-14)
Volta-look for transition words such as: but,
therefore, however, yet, or, so. These words
are a good place to start.
A (sun)
B (red)
Quatrain 1 (lines 1-4)
A (dun)
B (head)
C (white)
D (cheeks)
Quatrain 2 (lines 5-8)
C (delight)
D (reeks)
E (know)
F (sound)
E (go)
Quatrain 3 (lines 9-12)
F (ground)
G (rare)
G (compare)
Couplet (lines 13-14)
Volta-look for transition words such as: but,
therefore, however, yet, or, so. These words
are a good place to start.
What’s the next step?
Explication!
Explication is defined by Dictionary.com as an “analysis or
interpretation, especially of a literary passage or work or
philosophical doctrine.” Think of it as exploring a work of
literature to better understand what is written. Just like
you would use a map to navigate around an unfamiliar
city to see its tourist attractions, restaurants, and
architecture, so too will you use explication to navigate
Shakespeare’s plays to better understand his characters,
message, and themes.
How do you explicate?
To be successful, please follow the steps on the
following slides. It is important not to short
change any of the steps. In other words, don’t
slack off and/or skip any of the steps!
Good Afternoon!
• Please get out your notes from yesterday.
• Get out a pen/pencil.
Today’s Outcomes
• Review the explication steps we talked about
yesterday
• Practice using the explication steps with Sonnet
18 & 130
Looking forward…we will spend the next week and
half working on sonnets. You will have another
paper to write and some lines to memorize (all for
a grade). Please make sure that you are here.
Quick review…
• What do you remember from yesterday’s intro
about sonnets?
• What are some things you can do to help
yourself understand a sonnet?
Explication Steps:
1. Read passage.
 What are your initial impressions? What do you think the speaker is saying?
2. Divide the passage into phrases/complete sentences.
3. Look up words you don’t know and even words you think you know.
 Words have different connotative (implied meanings) and denotative
(dictionary definitions) meanings.
 Words you do know can be used differently. And, of course, you need to look
up words you do not know.
 Write clear definitions of these words.
 Then, re-read the passage.
4. Underline the verbs.
 Who is doing what?
5. Re-read the passage.
 Are there any similes or metaphors? What elements are being connected? Are
there any symbols? What is the tone?
6. Write the passage in your own words.
Let’s practice with sonnet 18…
Step1: Read
As I read this sonnet out loud to you, please mark those spots
in which you:
Have confusion !
Have questions ?
Wonder about
Step2: Divide the passage into sentences
Divide (also known as “chunk”) the poem as we go through it.
Break it up into manageable parts.
Please don’t mark anything else until I tell you to do so!
With a partner, divide this sonnet
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
2. Divide into phrases/complete sentences
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
** As I reread the poem (an extra step
here), pause next to each mark you
made (!, ?, ) and write a question
about the text or a comment about
the confusion you felt at that point.**
As a whole class…
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
3. Look up words you don’t know.
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
Discuss
• What are some of the questions you feel we
need to answer about this sonnet?
4. Underline verbs. Who is doing what?
Who is comparing?
The speaker “I”.
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Who is lovely and
more temperate? I
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
think it’s the person the
speaker is talking to.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
5. Write in your own words
Summary versus Paraphrase
Summary of this sonnet: The speaker is comparing a
loved one to summer, saying that summer is nothing
compared to this person.
A paraphrase is a line-by-line translation. It is the same
length and level of detail as the original.
5. Write in your own words
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
How would you dramatically read
this sonnet?
Sonnet 130
• Let’s do the same thing with sonnet 130.
Step 1
As you read this sonnet, please mark those spots in which
you:
Have confusion !
Have questions ?
Wonder about
Step 2
Divide/Chunk the sonnet into phrases/complete sentences.
**Reread the poem (an extra step here), pause next to each mark you made (!, ?, ) and
write a question about the text or a comment about the confusion you felt at that point.**
Step 3
Look up words you don’t know. Then, are there any similes,
metaphors, images, symbols or repeated elements you
notice?
What are some questions that need to be answered in this sonnet?
Step 4
Underline the verbs in the sonnet. Who is doing what?
Step 5
Write the sonnet in your own words.