The Sonnet
ENGLISH IV AP
Do Now: September 30th
COMPLETE THE GRAMMAR
WORKSHEET
1-15
I WILL CALL YOU UP IN
ALPHA ORDER TO SUBMIT
YOUR ESSAY. BE READY TO
TURN IN YOUR BOOKS.
The Sonnet
 14 lines in length.
 Originated in Italy, made famous in 16th century
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England.
Sonnet means “little song” or “little sound.”
3 types: Petrarchan, Spencerian, Shakespearean.
Chief topic is love (often for one who is unattainable)
Poets also express the idea of immortality through
verse.
Elizabethans loved the structure, did not see it as
restrictive….allowed for creative expression
The Shakespearean Sonnet: Form
Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets; they were published in
1609 (they represent a more than ten year process of writing)
Notice how his poems reflect an awareness of
mortality. His poems deal with the issue of “being”
after death, the eternal life.
 written in iambic pentameter
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Unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
The rhyme scheme in a Shakespearean sonnet is a-b-a-b, c-dc-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet.
Shakespeare is one of the best known sonneteers. (wrote 154
sonnets)
Composed of 3 quatrains (4 lines) and 1 rhyming couplet
Presents the problem/issue in first 12 lines, resolution or fresh
look at the theme in the last two lines.
Things to keep in mind….
 Although written in first
person, the poems do not
provide a reliable
account of Shakespeare’s
life.
 They are not really
autobiographical, though
personal experiences
may be reflected within
their lines.
 They do not follow any
clearly chronological
pattern.
 The first 126 appear to
address an aristocratic,
fair young man.
 The next 26 refer to a
dark-haired, somewhat
promiscuous woman.
 The final 2 sonnets
address Cupid
 He addresses
conventional sonnet
topics—love and beauty,
and the related motifs of
time and mutability.
A few conclusions…
 The poems addressed to the young man and dark-
haired lady may be literary inventions (characters).
 The sonnets do not present a narrative. We can make
connections between them, but do not assume their
“stories” are the same.
 Few of the sonnets are dramatic—they are lyric
meditations on love
 Almost all of the sonnets follow the standard English
or Shakespearean sonnet form
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Fourteen lines of iambic pentameter verse
Seven rhymes arranged as three quatrains and a closing
couplet
The Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet: Form
 The typical Italian sonnet structure included two parts that
together formed an "argument.”
 First, the octave—8 lines ( or two quatrains--4lines each),
forms the "proposition," which describes a "problem,"
followed by a sestet—6 lines (two tercets--3 lines), which
proposes a resolution. The rhyme scheme is abba, abba
(octave), while the sestet is built on two or three different
rhymes.
 Typically, the ninth line creates what is called the "turn," or
volta, which signals the move from proposition to resolution.
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In Shakespeare’s sonnets, this “turn” typically occurs in the couplet,
usually summarizing the poem or offering a fresh look at the theme.
 Even in sonnets that don't strictly follow the
problem/resolution structure, the ninth line still often marks
a "turn" by signaling a change in the tone, mood, or stance of
the poem
The Focus
 Most of the sonnets focus on the topic of love—
particularly an unattainable love.
 Shakespeare’s sonnets do not express a single
philosophy of love.
 The sonnets reflect on feelings and situations related
to love.
 Sonnet 116 has been called the marriage poem
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It states the true love lasts for all time
It is a grand generalization, rare for Shakespeare, about love
It can easily be applied to situations of love, marriage, and
jealousy found in Shakespeare’s plays.
Reminders. . .
 Do not assume that the speaker and the poet are the
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same person ( general rule of poetry).
Still, what can we infer about the poet based on the
content of the poem?
Consider the “message” of the poem
What literary devices help to convey that meaning?
Annotate, annotate, annotate. . . .
How do you think the poet would divide the poem?
Label each sonnet. Is it Shakespearean or
Petrarchan? How do you know?
How do these poems address the ability to triumph
over the laws of nature? (death, mortality, etc)