The Sonnet
- What is a lyric poem?
A short poem with sound like qualities
- Is the sonnet a lyric or narrative poem?
Lyric
- How many lines does the sonnet have?
14 lines
- What is usually resolved or summed up in the last lines of a sonnet?
The main feelings of the sonnet
- What are the two main forms of the sonnet?
Petrarchan and Shakespearian
- Who is Petrarch?
An Italian poet who wrote the sonnet
- Find a picture of him.
- Find one of his sonnets.
It was the day the sun's ray had turned pale
with pity for the suffering of his Maker
when I was caught, and I put up no fight,
my lady, for your lovely eyes had bound me.
It seemed no time to be on guard against
Love's blows; therefore, I went my way
secure and fearless-so, all my misfortunes
began in midst of universal woe.
Love found me all disarmed and found the way
was clear to reach my heart down through the eyes
which have become the halls and doors of tears.
It seems to me it did him little honour
to wound me with his arrow in my state
and to you, armed, not show his bow at all.
- To whom did he address most of his sonnets?
Lauran
- Who is credited with introducing the sonnet into England?
Sir Thomas Wyatt
- Find a picture of Sir Thomas Wyatt.
- Find a picture of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.
- What is a stanza?
An arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter or rhyme schemes forming division of a poem
- What is an octave?
A stanza of eight lines
- What is a quatrain?
A stanza or poem of four lines
- What is a sestet?
The last six lines of a sonnet in Italian form considered as a unit
- What is rhyme scheme?
The pattern of rhymes used in a poem
- What is iambic pentameter?
A common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents
Italian Sonnet
She closed her eyes; and in sweet slumber lying,
her spirit tiptoed from its lodging-place.
It's folly to shrink in fear, if this is dying;
for death looked lovely in her lovely face.
Francesco Petrarcha Petrarch (1304 - 1374)
- How many octaves does a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet have?
One
- How many quatrains does the octave have?
Two
- What does the first quatrain present?
Establishes the theme or dilemma
- What does the second quatrain do?
Complicates the theme or dilemma
- On what three different rhymes can the sestet be built?
The dilemma presented by the octave
- On what do the first three lines of the sestet exemplify or reflect?
The dilemma presented by the octave
- To what do the last three lines of the sestet bring?
Closes up the problem
English Sonnet
"Assist me some extemporal god of rhyme, for I am sure I shall turn sonneter.
Devise, wit, write, pen; for I am for whole volumes in folio."
William Shakespeare - Love’s Labour’s Lost
- What is a couplet?
A pair of successive lines of verse a pair that rhyme and are of the same length
- How many quatrains does a Shakespearean (English) sonnet have?
Three
- What brings the English sonnet to a close?
The couplet which summarizes the theme of the poem
- What is the rhyme scheme of an English sonnet?
a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g
- On what subject was the 16th century sonnet primarily based?
Love
- The first 17 of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets have been traditionally believed to be addressed to whom?
A young man referred to as “Fair Youth”
- With what are they all concerned?
Urging the young man to marry and have children in order to immortalize his beauty by passing it to the next generation
- With what does the series 78-89 concern?
The Rival Poet
- What subject do sonnets 127-133 and 147-152 concern?
The Dark Lady
35. Find a Shakespearean sonnet you like or agree with.
- Find a picture of Shakespeare that best reflects his character based on what is written below.