The Sonnet

What is it?-14 lines

-Rhyme scheme

-Iambic pentameter

iamb=1 unstressed syllable+1stressed Meter=one line of the sonnetPenta=5

Meter=iamb x 5

Shall I /compare /thee to /a sum/mer’s day/?

THE VOCABULARY

Death, be not proud, though some have called theemeter

Death, beIambus

(Meter x 14) + rhyme scheme + content = Sonnet magic!

Da DUM da DUM da DUM

Two Kinds of Sonnets

• Italian or PetrarchanNamed for Petrarch, who was Italian (c.1300s)Wyatt translated the sonnets and introduced the

form to England

• English or Shakespearean

Italian

• Octave (8)and sestet(6)• Octave: abbaabba• Sestet:cdecde,cdcdcd,cdedce• Octave: narrative• Sestet: abstract comment• Volta (turn): at line 9• Usually uses iambic pentameter

English/Shakespearean Sonnet

• Divided into 4 sections:– Three quatrains (each has own rhyme scheme,

alternating lines)– Rhymed couplet at the end (two lines)

•Iambic pentameter is usual•Typical rhyme scheme;ababcdcdefefgg

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so ; For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow, Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy picture[s] be, Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well, And better than thy stroke ; why swell'st thou then ? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more ; Death, thou shalt die.

Holy Sonnet #10, John Donne

In Groups of 3

-Chose a thesis statement for this poem-Chose three quotes to support your thesis-EXPLAIN the quotes(why are they significant? What do they

illustrate?)

Things to keep in mind: literary devices, context, meaning then vs. meaning now