English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets

Sonnets

Objectives
Students will be able to:
 Understand the following literary terms
o Sonnet
o Petrarchan Sonnet
o Shakespearean Sonnet
o Spenserian Sonnet
o Octave
o Sestet
o Quatrain
o Couplet
o Volta
o Iamb
o Meter
 Appreciate shared characteristics of literature across cultures
 Recognize themes across cultures

Derivation
The term sonnet is derived from the French word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. By the
thirteenth century, “sonnet” had come to signify a lyric poem of fourteen lines following a strict rhyme scheme and
logical structure. There are three main types of sonnets—Shakespearean, Petrarchan, and Spenserian—and each has its
own unique configuration.

Style
The sonnets of the Renaissance follow many stylistic conventions. For instance, poets did not express their feelings
outright; instead, emotions were disguised using figures of speech—commonly referred to as figurative language or
poetic devices. Specifically, Shakespearean sonnets are characterized by recurring similes used to describe the idealized
beauty of a lady (for example: “cheeks like roses,” “eyes like stars,” and “teeth like pearls”). Poets also employ metaphors
to compare themselves to creatures (such as “moths drawn to a flame”). Another common theme in poetry is
personification—especially the personification of love as the Roman god Cupid and beauty as the Greek goddess
Aphrodite.

What Makes a Poem a Sonnet?

Length 14 lines
Subject(s) A lyrical nature—a focus on personal feelings and thoughts
Meter Iambic pentameter lines (lines containing fine metrical unit, each consisting of
an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable)
Structure and rhyme scheme A particular structure and rhyme scheme, Petrarchan or Shakespearean (that of
the sonnet of another variation)
English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets
Poetry Terms
Sonnet: a fourteen line lyric poem following a specific rhyme scheme
Lyric: a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet; a lyric poem may
resemble a song in form or style
Ode: a lyric poem—serious and thoughtful in tone—with a precise, formal structure
Elegy: a poem that laments the death of a person, or one that is simply sad and thoughtful
Stanza: a unit within a larger poem; stanzas usually share a rhyme scheme and a fixed number of lines
Tercet: a stanza of three lines
Quatrain: a stanza of four lines; (the most common stanza form in European poetry)
Sestet: a stanza of six lines
Octave: a stanza of eight lines
Couplet: a pair of lines that form a unit; most couplets rhyme (though they don’t have to)
Rhyme Scheme: the arrangement of rhymes in a poem or stanza
Volta: a turn (at the ninth line of an Italian sonnet) which signals a change in the tone, mood, or stance of the poem; the
move from proposition to resolution in a sonnet
Meter: the rhythmic pattern and arrangement of words in poetry; determined by type and number of units per line
Iamb: a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable or a short syllable followed by a
long syllable (for example, de-lay)
Pentameter: a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet
Iambic Pentameter: a common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot
containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable. Shakespeare also uses iambic pentameter in his plays: An
example from Romeo and Juliet is “But sof! / What light / through yon /der win /dow breaks?”

Strategies for Reading: Sonnet Form

1. Read the sonnet several times.
2. Use letters to label like-sounding words at the ends of lines.
3. Identify the major units of thought or feeling.
4. Describe the situation introduced in the first part of the sonnet.
5. Paraphrase the speaker’s final resolution of, conclusions about, or reactions to the situation.
6. Study the imagery and figurative language for clues to the emotions expressed.
7. Monitor your reading strategies and modify them when your understanding breaks down. Remember to use
strategies for active reading:
a. Predict
b. Visualize
c. Connect
d. Question
e. Clarify
f. Evaluate
English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets
The Petrarchan Sonnet
Background
The Italian poet Francesco Petrarch first made the sonnet popular in the 14 th century. Petrarch (1304-1374) was not only
a poet, but also a scholar and early humanist. He and Dante Alighieri are considered “the fathers of the Renaissance.”
Petrarch’s collection of 366 poems is called the Canzoniere or “Song Book.”

In 1327, the sight of a woman called Laura in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon awoke in Petrarch a lasting passion.
Her realistic presentation in his poems contrasts with the clichés of troubadours and courtly love. Her presence causes
him unspeakable joy, but his unrequited love creates unendurable desires. There is little definite information in
Petrarch's work concerning Laura, except she is fair-haired and lovely to look at, with a modest, dignified bearing. She is
believed to have been married to another man, thus perpetuating Petrarch’s longing.

Structure
Petrarchan sonnets, also called Italian sonnets, are distinguishable by their structure: first an octave (eight lines), then a
sestet (six lines) following the rhyme scheme abbaabba cdecde OR abbaabba cdcdcd.

Petrarchan sonnets present problems, pose questions, and express ideas in the octave, and then resolve the problems
and answer the questions in the sestet. Typically, the ninth line creates a "turn" or volta, which signals the move from
proposition to resolution. Even in sonnets that don't strictly follow the problem/resolution structure, the ninth line still
often marks a "turn" by signaling a change in the tone, mood, or stance of the poem.

Example
How Do I Love Thee?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Petrarchan Sonnet Anatomy
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight 1. Label the rhyme scheme in the left
margin (use capital letters)
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's 2. Alternately circle and box the iambic
pentameter components by syllable
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. (only the first line)
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
3. Bracket the octave and the sestet
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use 4. Star the volta

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets
Sonnet 169
Rapt in the one fond thought that makes me stray Rapt: deeply absorbed
from other men and walk this world alone,
sometimes I have escaped myself and flown
to seek the very one that I should flee;

so fair and fell I see her passing by Fell: cruel

that the soul trembles to take flight again,
so many armed sighs are in her train, Train: a group of people following in attendance
this lovely foe to Love himself and me!

And yet, upon that high and clouded brow

I seem to see a ray of pity shine,
shedding some light across the grieving heart:

so I call back my soul, and when I vow

at last to tell her of my hidden pain,
I have so much to say I dare not start.

How would you describe the relationship between the speaker and his beloved? Think about:
a. The conflict the speaker expresses in lines 3-4
b. His description of how his soul “trembles to take flight again” (line 6)
c. His use of contradictory phrases in describing his beloved (line 5 and line 8)
d. The needs he suggests in lines 12-14

Sonnet 292
The eyes I spoke of once in words that burn,
the arms and hands and feet and lovely face
that took me from myself for such a space
of time and marked me out from other men;

the waving hair of unmixed gold that shone,

the smile that flashed with the angelic rays
that used to make this earth a paradise,
are now a little dust, all feeling gone;

and yet I live, grief and disdain to me,

left where that light I cherished never shows,
in fragile bark on the tempestuous sea. Bark: sailing ship Tempestuous: stormy

Here let my loving song come to a close,

the vein of my accustomed art is dry,
and this, my lyre, turned at last to tears. Lyre: a stringed musical instrument, like a harp

How would you describe the speaker’s feelings over the loss of love? This about:
a. His description of his beloved’s physical attributes
b. His attitude toward his own life (lines 9-11)
c. What he means by “the vein of my accustomed art is dry” (line 13)
English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets
The Shakespearean Sonnet
Background
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the
English language, one of the greatest writers in Western literature, and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He wrote
about 38 plays and 154 sonnets, as well as a variety of other poems. Already a popular writer in his own lifetime,
Shakespeare's reputation became increasingly celebrated after his death. Shakespeare is the most quoted writer in the
literature and history of the English-speaking world. He is often considered England's national poet and is referred to as
“The Bard of Avon,” “The Bard,” or “The Swan of Avon.”

Also called English sonnets, Shakespeare's sonnets comprise a collection of 154 poems that deal with such themes as
love, beauty, politics, and mortality. The sonnets were written over a period of several years (beginning in the early
1590’s), and all but two first appeared in a 1609 collection entitled Shakespeare's Sonnets.

Structure
Shakespearean sonnets are constructed of three quatrains and a couplet composed in iambic pentameter with the
rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg. Shakespearean sonnets express related ideas or examples in the quatrains, and sum
up the poet’s message in the couplet.

Example
Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Shakespearean Sonnet Anatomy
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
1. Label the rhyme scheme in the left
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
margin (use capital letters)
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
2. Alternately circle and box the iambic
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
pentameter components by syllable (only
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d; the first line)
And every fair from fair some time declines,
3. Bracket each quatrain
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm’d;
4. Underline the rhyming couplet
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest 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.
English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets
Sonnet 29
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state State: condition
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries Bootless: useless
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd, Features like him: with his features (handsome)
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope, Scope: intelligence
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 Lark: the English skylark—beautiful singing
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 changes the speaker’s mood in the sonnet?

2. What do you think are the speaker’s strongest feelings in this sonnet? Cite the lines from the sonnet to support
your answer.

Sonnet 116
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love Impediments: obstacles
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark Mark: a navigational landmark that is seen from the sea
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark, Bark: sailing ship
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Whose…taken: a reference to a star
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come: Within…compass: within the range of his curving sickle
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom. Bears it out: endures Doom: Doomsday, Judgement Day
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved

1. What kind of person might the speaker be? This about the likely age of such a person and the experiences that
such a person might have had.

2. Do you think speaker’s concept of love is realistic? Why or why not?

English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets
The Spenserian Sonnet
Background
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) was an English poet and Poet Laureate (a poet officially appointed by a government to
compose poems for state occasions). The Spenserian sonnet was named for him and is a variant on the English
(Shakespearean) sonnet.

Structure
Spenserian sonnets follow the rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd ee. The form is treated as three quatrains connected by an
interlocking rhyme scheme and followed by a couplet.

Example
Sonnet 54
Sir Edmund Spenser

Of this World's theatre in which we stay,

Spenserian Sonnet Anatomy
My love like the Spectator idly sits,
Beholding me, that all the pageants play, 1. Label the rhyme scheme in the left
margin (use capital letters)
Disguising diversely my troubled wits.
Sometimes I joy when glad occasion fits, 2. Alternately circle and box the iambic
pentameter components by syllable
And mask in mirth like to a Comedy; (only the first line)
Soon after when my joy to sorrow flits,
3. Bracket each quatrain
I wail and make my woes a Tragedy.
Yet she, beholding me with constant eye, 4. Underline the rhyming couplet

Delights not in my mirth nor rues my smart;

But when I laugh, she mocks: and when I cry
She laughs and hardens evermore her heart.
What then can move her? If not mirth nor moan,
She is no woman, but a senseless stone.
English 10A, Mathews/Cox Sonnets
Sonnet 30
My love is like to ice, and I to fire:
How comes it then that this her cold so great
Is not dissolved through my so hot desire,
But harder grows the more I her entreat? Entreat: plead with
Or how comes it that my exceeding heat
Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold,
But that I burn much more in boiling sweat,
And feel my flames augmented manifold? Augmented manifold: greatly increased
What more miraculous thing may be told,
That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice,
And ice, which is congealed with senseless cold, Congealed: solidified
Should kindle fire by wonderful device?
Such is the power of love in gentle mind,
That it can alter all the course of kind. Kind: nature

1. What are your reactions to the speaker’s feelings about love?

2. What do you think Spenser chose to use the images of fire and ice? Think about:
a. The characteristics usually associated with fire and ice.
b. The characteristics of fire and ice in this sonnet.

Sonnet 75
One day I wrote her name upon the strand, Strand: beach
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
Vain man, said she, that dost in vain assay Assay: try
A mortal thing so to immortalize,
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eke my name be wiped out likewise. Eke: also
Not so (quod I), let baser things devise Quod: said
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
Where whenas Death shall all the world subdue,
Out love shall live, and later life renew

1. Why do you think the speaker wants to immortalize his love?

2. Reread lines 13-14. Do you agree with the speaker that love can overcome death? Why or why not?