Shakespearian Sonnet

Your task is to write a Shakespearian sonnet in the form of a letter

What is a sonnet?

A sonnet is a 14 line fixed poem, made up of 3 quatrains and one couplet, with a specific rhyme scheme. A sonnet also makes use of iambic pentameter.

Vocabulary Review

  • Fixed Poem – a poem with a set pattern (stanzas, rhyme scheme)
  • Stanza – a group of lines in poetry
  • Quatrain – 4 line stanza
  • Couplet – 2 line stanza
  • Iambic pentameter – 10 syllables per line

The content of your sonnet

  • Should be a letter
  • Should be in 1st person
  • Should quote a minimum of 1 line, maximum of 2, from the text (don’t forget to use quotation marks).
  • Should be true to the text and cohesive
  • Should fulfill assignment requirements

The format of your sonnet

  • Should adhere to the format of a Shakespearian sonnet.
  • Should be typed
  • Should be in letter format
  • Should have appropriate spacing between salutation, stanzas and closing
  • Should appear ancient, yet be neat and readable

Exemplar

Salutation / Dear Lord Capulet and Lord Montague, / Rhyme Scheme / Syllables
1st Quatrain / 1 In Verona, the streets with blood are wet / A / 10 syllables
2 And on the streets lay the wounded and dead / B / 10 syllables
3 It is because of you old Capulet / A / 10 syllables
4 And you Montague, that this blood is shed. / B / 10 syllables
2nd Quatrain / 5 Your unfounded anger towards each other / C / 10 syllables
6 “Have thrice disturbed the quiet of our street” (585, 86). / D / 10 syllables
7 And I will not tolerate another / C / 10 syllables
8 Brawl. You will both have to admit defeat. / D / 10 syllables
3rd Quatrain / 9 Capulet, your nephew Tybalt must be / E / 10 syllables
10 Calmed. His hate is what keeps this feud going. / F / 10 syllables
11 It is important for you both to see / E / 10 syllables
12 The amount of people you are harming. / F / 10 syllables
Couplet / 13 If the war and blood shed do not decrease / G / 10 syllables
14 “Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace” (585, 92). / G / 10 syllables
Closing / Your Ruler,
Speaker’s Name / Prince Escalus

Assignment Choices

A letter from Romeo to Benvolio explaining why he is depressed about Rosaline and why Benvolio’s advice to look at other women is pointless.

A letter from Romeo to Juliet declaring his love and future plans.

A letter from Juliet to Romeo declaring her love and future plans.

A letter from Benvolio to Mercutio enlisting his help to make Romeo forget about Rosaline.

A letter from Paris to Juliet explaining his desire to marry and to take care of her.

A letter from Tybalt to Romeo challenging him to a dual and explaining the reasons for his hate.

Sonnet Rubric

Letter Format (salutation and closing) / 2 4
Creativity :A scroll and/or Ancient but Neat and Readable
(all or nothing)) / 5
1st person point of view / 5
1 or 2 Quote(s) from text / 5
In text parenthetical citation(s) (pg #, line #) / 5
Sonnet is true to text / 5 10
Sonnet is cohesive (all or nothing) / 6
14 lines (all or nothing) / 5
Appropriate spacing (all or nothing) / 5
rhyme scheme (all or nothing) / 5
Iambic pentameter / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Spelling, punctuation and typos / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Presentation
Voice: Loud, clear and well paced (all or nothing) / 5
Eye contact, not just reading off the paper (all or nothing) / 5
Posture: Stands up straight, no slouching, head up (all or nothing) / 5
Peer Evaluation (all or nothing) / 10
Total Points /

Your name and the date should appear on the back of your sonnet.

Select 4 quotes that you may be able to use in your sonnet. Remember to use quotation marks and to include parenthetical citations.

“Quote” / Parenthetical Citation (page #, line #) / Syllable Count