Name Date
Directions: Read the following Shakespearean Sonnet. Mark the rhyme scheme next to the line of the poem. Then answer the questions below.
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 dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
1. What is being described in each section of the poem?
1st Quatrain2nd Quatrain
3rd Quatrain
Couplet
2. Identify literary devices in the poem. You can put the line number and type of device.
______
______
______
______
______
3. What idea is the author trying to convey? ______
______
______
______
Directions: Read the following Shakespearean Sonnet. Mark the rhyme scheme next to the line of the poem. Then answer the questions below.
SONNET 29
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
1. What is being described in each section of the poem?
1st Quatrain2nd Quatrain
3rd Quatrain
Couplet
2. Identify literary devices in the poem. You can put the line number and type of device.
______
______
______
______
______
3. What idea is the author trying to convey? ______
______
______
______
Directions: Read the following Shakespearean Sonnet. Mark the rhyme scheme next to the line of the poem. Then answer the questions below.
SONNET 116
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
1. What is being described in each section of the poem?
1st Quatrain2nd Quatrain
3rd Quatrain
Couplet
2. Identify literary devices in the poem. You can put the line number and type of device.
______
______
______
______
______
3. What idea is the author trying to convey? ______
______
______
______
Directions: Read the following Shakespearean Sonnet. Mark the rhyme scheme next to the line of the poem. Then answer the questions below.
SONNET 130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
1. What is being described in each section of the poem?
1st Quatrain2nd Quatrain
3rd Quatrain
Couplet
2. Identify literary devices in the poem. You can put the line number and type of device.
______
______
______
______
______
3. What idea is the author trying to convey? ______
______
______
______
Name Date
Sonnet 18 / Sonnet 29 / Sonnet 116 / Sonnet 130 Copy Master
Reading Skill
Analyze Imagery
Imagery consists of words and phrases that a writer uses to re-create sensory experiences for the reader. Such language may appeal to the sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell.
Directions:As you read the sonnets, record examples of language that appeals to the senses. Explain the idea or emotion that is conveyed through this imagery.
Sonnet / Imagery / Idea or Emotion Conveyed18 / rough winds / Summer weather can be harsh.
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love / The Nymph’s Reply to the shepherd
Literary Analysis
Pastoral
A pastoral is a poem that presents shepherds in idealized rural settings. Details of pastoral life and nature imagery are used to convey emotions and ideas.
Directions:In the chart, list the words and phrases that Marlowe uses to convey the joys of love in “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.” An example has been done for you.
Words and Phrases from “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”“Melodious birds sing madrigals”
Reading Skill
Compare Speakers
The speaker in a poem is the voice that addresses the reader, much like the narrator in a work of fiction. A speaker expresses ideas from a particular point of view.
Directions:The speakers in the two poems express very different attitudes about love. As you read both poems, use this chart to make notes on the speakers’ differing attitudes toward love. Look for specific words and phrases that indicate their feelings. An example has been done for you.
Shepherd’s Line / Nymph’s Reply“I will make thee beds of roses” / “flowers do fade”
1. Analyze ImageryHow does Raleigh’s use of changing seasons support the nymph’s opinion?
2. Compare SpeakersThink about the lines in the two poems that are similar. How does each speaker feel about love?
TO HIS COY MISTRESS / TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME / TO ALTHEA, FROM PRISON
Reading Skill
Interpret Figurative LANGUAGE
While reading poetry, you will often need to interpret figurative language, or language that communicates ideas beyond the literal meanings of the words. The following types of figurative language are common in Cavalier poetry which is known for its musical, lighthearted verse.
• metaphor:a comparison of two unlike things
• simile:a comparison that uses the word like or as
• hyperbole:an exaggeration used for emphasis or humorous effect
Directions:As you read the poems, list examples of hyperbole, metaphor, and simile. Then record your interpretations of their meanings. An example has been done for you.
Poem / Figurative Language / Interpretation“To His Coy Mistress” / Hyperbole: “My vegetable love should grow/Vaster than empires and more slow” / The speaker’s love will not dissipate in the future but will continue to grow.
Question Support
Literary Analysis
Directions: Answer the questions.
4. Interpret Figurative MeaningMatch each line to its figurative meaning.
lines 38–40, “To His Coy Mistress”lines 3–4, “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” / a. Our lives are short.
b. We should devour time.
5. Analyze ThemeName one image the poet uses to express the passing of time in each poem.
“To His Coy Mistress”
“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”
6. Make Generalizations About SpeakersThink about the speakers in all three poems. Tell how each speaker feels about women.
Speaker in “To His Coy Mistress”
Speaker in “To the Virgins”
from Paradise Lost
Reading Check
Directions:Read the questions below and think about the events and ideas in the excerpt from Paradise Lost. Then answer each question in one or two sentences.
1. What has happened in Heaven that caused Satan to be punished?
2. Describe the place of his punishment.
3. What is Satan’s attitude toward God after his punishment?
4. Why does Beelzebub worry that his eternal life may be of no use to him?
5. Why doesn’t Satan regret his punishment?
6. Draw Conclusions About the SpeakerReread lines 1–26. Then complete each sentence.
The speaker is ambitious because
The speaker is humble because
7. Understand ImageryReread lines 59–74. Then complete the sentence. The detail about Hell that seems most dramatic to me is
8. Interpret Difficult TextsWrite a one-sentence summary of each of these sections.
lines 53–58
lines 242–270
9. Compare and Contrast CharactersA foil is a character who contrasts with a main character. How is Beëlzebub Satan’s foil? Think about how the two angels act.
10. Analyze AllusionsAn allusion is a brief reference to a fictional or historical person, place, or event, or to another literary work or passage. Choose one allusion from lines 192–241. Explain why Milton uses that allusion.
Literary Analysis
Spenserian Sonnet
A Spenserian sonnet consists of three four-line units called quatrains, followed by two rhymed lines called a couplet. The couplet answers or summarizes the question or idea posed in the three quatrains. The rhyme scheme is abab bcbc cdcd ee.
Directions:In your own words, write the question or idea that is discussed in each quatrain in “Sonnet 30.” Then explain how the couplet at the end responds to these questions or ideas.
Quatrain / Question PosedLines 1–4
Lines 5–8
Lines 9–12
In lines 13–14, the speaker responds to the quatrains by saying that
Spenserian Sonnet
A Spenserian sonnet consists of three four-line units called quatrains, followed by two rhymed lines called a couplet. The couplet answers or summarizes the question or idea posed in the three quatrains. The rhyme scheme is abab bcbc cdcd ee.
Directions:In your own words, write the question or idea that is discussed in each quatrain in “Sonnet 75.” Then explain how the couplet at the end responds to these questions or ideas.
Quatrain / Question PosedLines 1–4
Lines 5–8
Lines 9–12
In lines 13–14, the speaker responds to the quatrains by saying that
Summarize Major Ideas in Poetry
When you summarize a poem, you briefly restate the main ideas or themes in your own words.
Directions:As you read each poem, use the charts to summarize the major ideas of each section. An example has been done for you.
Sonnet 30
Part of Poem / Major Idea1st quatrain
2nd quatrain
3rd quatrain
Couplet
Sonnet 75
Part of Poem / Major Idea1st quatrain / Whenever I write my beloved’s name in the sand, the waves wash it away.
2nd quatrain
3rd quatrain
Couplet
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