Sonnets

First, a few poetry terms…

A stanza is like a paragraph of a poem.

A 2-line stanza is called: A Couplet

A 3-line stanza is called: A Tercet

A 4-line stanza is called: A Quatrain

A 5-line stanza is called: A Cinquain

* Alliteration – the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. * This makes you slow down & focus on the words.Example – “of cloudless climbs and starry skies”

Underline the words that show alliteration

•“Come live with me and be my love,/ And we will all the pleasures prove” (Marlowe 1-2).

• “Time drives the flocks from field to fold/

When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,”

(Raleigh 5-6).

The answers…•“Come live with me and be my love,/ And we will all the pleasures prove” (Marlowe 1-2).

•“Time drives the flocks from field to fold/

When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,”

(Raleigh 5-6).

Why not…?•“Come live with me and be my love,/ And we will all the pleasures prove” (Marlowe 1-2).

•“Time drives the flocks from field to fold/

When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,”

(Raleigh 5-6).

Definition of a Sonnet

• A 14-line lyric poem with a complicated rhyme scheme and a defined structure.

• Comes from the Italian word for “little song”

Volta• The volta (or “the turn”) in a

sonnet is important. The volta is the point where the poet takes a “turn” or changes what he’s talking about (often when the rhyme group changes or with words like “But” “Yet” etc.) Ex: ABBAABBA (volta) CDCDCD

• Not every sonnet has a volta.

Italian Sonnet• Also called the Petrarchan

Sonnet in honor of Francesco Petrarch, the Italian poet who perfected it

• He thought it was the perfect style to convey emotions, esp. love

• He wrote 365 sonnets (*one per day) to a beautiful lady named Laura.

Form & Rhyme Scheme

• Two-part structure: octave (first eight lines)

ABBAABBA (rhyme scheme)

sestet (last six lines)CDCDCD or CDECDE(*occasionally CDDCDD)

Petrarchan cont.

•Octave: usually sets up/explains the speaker’s situation

•Sestet: resolves, draws conclusions about or expresses a reaction to that situation

• The volta usually occurs between the octave & sestet

ABBAABBA volta CDCDCD

Sonnet 1 by PetrarchHere's Sonnet 1 in the original:Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suonoDi quei sospiri ond'io nudriva 'l coreIn sul mio primo giovenile errore,Quand'era in parte altr'uom da quel ch' i' sono,Del vario stile in ch'io piango e ragionoFra le vane speranze e 'l van dolore,Ove sia chi per prova intenda amore,Spero trovar pieta, non che perdono.Ma ben veggio or si come al popol tuttoFavola fui gran tempo, onde soventeDi me medesmo meco mi vergogno;E del mio vaneggiar vergogna e 'l frutto,E 'l pentersi, e 'l conoscer chiaramenteChe quanto piace al mondo e breve sogno Rhyme scheme: ABBAABBACDECDE

Rhyme scheme gone wrong?

•No; Petrarchan sonnets we read are TRANSLATIONS from the original Italian.

•Translators try to create a similar rhyme scheme.

The English changed it

• English is considered a “rhyme poor” language.

• Petrarchan sonnets only used 4-5 rhymes per sonnet.

• English poets made the rhyme scheme more complex.

Edmund Spenser’s Sonnets

• The rhyme scheme overlaps to bring more unity to the poems.

• Rhyme scheme:ABAB BCBC CDCD EE

● The volta/turn tends to occur at line 9 or the rhyming couplet at the end.

Spenser’s Sonnets

• Like Shakespeare’s, his consist of 3 quatrains and a rhyming couplet.

• Amoretti – his collection of sonnets – were published in 1595

• “intimate little tokens of love”• Many written when courting his 2nd

wife, Elizabeth Boyle (likely autobiographical in part)

Shakespeare’s Sonnets

• William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets.

• Topics: love, beauty, politics, & mortality.

• Some don’t believe he wrote them.

• The sonnets refer to a fair young man, a dark lady, and a rival poet.

The Rules

• 14 lines long• Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG• Ten syllables per line• Written in iambic pentameter • Usually about love (but not

always)

What’s iambic pentameter?

Iambic foot = unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (a foot with 2 syllables)ex. trapeze (tra-PEZE) not TRA-peze

Pentameter = five feetIambic pentameter = (2 x 5=10)

10 syllables per line

‘ / ‘ / ‘ / ‘ / ‘ /My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun

Shakespearean Form• Three quatrains (3 sets of 4 lines

each) + one rhyming couplet (2 lines that rhyme) = 14 lines

• The volta often occurs in the third quatrain (lines 9-12) or in the rhyming couplet (lines 13-14).

• Shakespearean sonnets include a “resolution” (an answer, ending thought, or summarizing comment) in the rhyming couplet.

Sonnet 138When my love swears that she is made of truth A

I do believe her, though I know she lies, B

That she might think me some untutor'd youth, A

Unlearned in the world's false subtleties. B

Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, C

Although she knows my days are past the best, D

Simply I credit her false speaking tongue: C

On both sides thus is simple truth suppress'd.D

But wherefore says she not she is unjust? E

And wherefore say not I that I am old? F

O, love's best habit is in seeming trust, E

And age in love loves not to have years told: F

Therefore I lie with her and she with me, G

And in our faults by lies we flatter'd be. G

She is soooo lying!

You have

such a nice

smile!