SONNET

An Introduction
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? FORM – What
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. kind of poem is
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, this? How do you
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. know?
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
1.
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
2.
3.
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
4.
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,

Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade

When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

 What is a Sonnet?
• It is:
– a 14 line lyric poem
• Lyric poem: short, personal poem that expresses the
thoughts and feelings of the speaker
• Traditionally, a love poem.
– Written in iambic pentameter
• Iambic refers to the name of the foot, which is
composed of a weaker syllable followed by an accented
syllable. Pentameter refers to the number of feet in a
line, in this case five. There are variations possible, but
the basic line of a sonnet reads: Da dum da dum da
dum da dum da dum with "da" being the weaker
syllable and "dum" the accented syllable.
 Origins
• Originated among Sicilian court poets in 13th
century
– Influenced by love poetry of Provencal
troubadours (singers)
• Spread to Tuscany region of Italy
– Reached its highest expression in Petrarch's
"Canzonieri," a sequence of love poems addressed
to "Laura," his idealized beloved.
• The best known styles of Sonnets are
Petrarchan (Italian) and Shakespearean
(English)
 Petrarchan Sonnets
• Consists of:
– An Octave (8 line stanza) rhyming abbaabba
• The octave presents an idea or poses a problem
– A sestet (six line stanza) rhyming cdcdcd or cdecde
• The sestet answers the problem; it may start with a
“volta” – which means turning point

The Italian sonnet form is commony called the Petrarchan sonnet,

because Petrarch's "Canzonieri," a sequence of poems including 317
sonnets, established the sonnet as a major form in European poetry.
 Petrarchan Sample:
When I consider how my light is spent (a) First 8 lines=octet
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, (b) Follow abbaabba rhyme
And that one talent which is death to hide, (b) scheme
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent (a)
To serve therewith my Maker, and present (a) The octet presents a problem or
My true account, lest he returning chide; (b) question

"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" (b)

I fondly ask; but Patience to prevent (a)
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need (c) Last 6 lines=sestet
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best (d) Follow cdecde rhyme scheme in
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state (e) this case (may follow cdcdcd in
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed (c) others)

And post o'er land and ocean without rest; (d) The sestet resolves the problem
They also serve who only stand and wait." (e) or question

Volta: (line 9) turn from problem to solution

NOTE: Shakespeare did not invent the English sonnet form, but he is recognized as its greatest practitioner; therefore,
the English sonnet is commonly called the Shakespearean sonnet.

Shakespearean Sonnets
Consists of:
• 3 quatrains and a couplet
– A quatrain is simply a four line stanza
• Alternate rhyme scheme per quatrain; abab cdcd efef

– A couplet is a two line stanza

• Same rhyme scheme for couplet: gg
• Here, content is allied to form, with each stanza introducing a
separate idea, extending, playing off, or arguing with what
went before, the turn often coming between the final
quatrain and the couplet.
 Sample Shakespearean Sonnet
In sonnet 18, the first few lines reflect on the theme of his writings, and the last
two lines bring the sonnet to a conclusion.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. B First quatrain (abab)
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A
And summer's lease hath all too short a date. B
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; D
And every fair from fair sometime declines, C Second quatrain (cdcd)
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; D
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, E
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, F
Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, E Third quatrain (efef)
When in eternal lines to time thou growest F
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see G Couplet (gg)
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G
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.
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.
 Now, you write a sonnet

You will follow it’s physical structure

and its theme structure
 OK- Write your own sonnet!
• Directions • Follow either Petrarchan or
– It must be 14 lines Shakespearean rhyme scheme
– Written in iambic pentameter – Shakes Petrarchan
(duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH- – A A
duh-DUH-duh-DUH). B B
A B
B A
C A
D B
C B
D A
More on structure on next E C
slide! F D
E E
F C
G D Or CDCDCD
G E
 Shakespearean
• First quatrain: An exposition of
the main theme and main
metaphor.
• Second quatrain: Theme and
metaphor extended or
complicated; often, some
imaginative example is given.
• Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist
or conflict), often introduced by a
"but" (very often leading off the
ninth line).
• Couplet: Summarizes and leaves
the reader with a new, concluding
image.
Petrarchan
• Petrarchan structure is simpler
• First, the octave, which describe a
problem
• followed by a sestet, which gives
the resolution to it.
– Typically, the ninth line creates a
"turn" or volta which signals the
move from proposition to
resolution.