Shakespeare Sonnet Cheat Sheet

#1 A Quick History in the Sonnets

From Wikipedia:

Shakespeare's sonnets are 154 poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare that deal with
such themes as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. All but two of the poems were first
published in a 1609 quarto entitled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS.: Never before imprinted. Sonnets
138 and 144 had previously been published in a 1599 miscellany entitled The Passionate Pilgrim. The
quarto ends with “A Lover's Complaint”, a narrative poem of 47 seven-line stanzas written in rhyme
royal.
The first 17 sonnets, traditionally called the procreation sonnets, are ostensibly written to a young man
urging him to marry and have children in order to immortalize his beauty by passing it to the next
generation.Other sonnets express the speaker's love for a young man; brood upon loneliness, death, and
the transience of life; seem to criticize the young man for preferring a rival poet; express ambiguous
feelings for the speaker's mistress; and pun on the poet's name. The final two sonnets are allegorical
treatments of Greek epigrams referring to the “little Love-god” Cupid.

#2 Structure and Backbone of the Sonnet

These poems are written in Iambic Pentameter
- u - u - u - u - u
When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes,
- u - u - u - u - u
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
- u - u - u - u - u - (11 syllables)
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
- u - u - u - u - u
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
- u - u - u - u - u
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
- u - u - u - u - u
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
- u - u - u - u - u
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
- u - u - u - u - u
With what I most enjoy contented least.
- u - u - u - u - u - (11 syllables)
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
- u - u - u - u - u
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
- u - u - u - u - u -
Like to the lark at break of day arising
- u - u - u - u - u
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;

- u - u - u - u - u
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
- u - u - u - u - u
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Here we see that each line is composed of five stressed syllables and five unstressed syllables. Except
for several exceptions, this is pretty standard. “De-Dum, De-Dum, De-Dum, De-Dum, De-Dum” is the
sound that we hear it make. It is similar to the “Lub Dup” of the human heart, a wave crashing onto the
side of a boat or any standard beat.
This is the heartbeat of your sonnet. It's always with you, and it is something to be constantly aware of
but not to limit your performance. Once you understand this structure, you can begin to play with the
sonnet. Pay specific attention to the stressed words. What clues does this bring to the meaning of the
sonnet?
Notice the words highlighted in yellow. These words are questionable on the pronunciation based on
the interpretation. With the first yellow selection we are given the word “heaven” which usually has to
be researched in the specific translation. In this instance, heaven will be pronounced heav'n. This makes
the word one syllable and fits in the 10 syllable. This is up to your interpretation, if it works, use it, if it
doesn't, throw it away.
The second use of the yellow highlight is the word “remembered”. We see the word “remembered”
which in it's current form, it is re-mem-ber-ed. 4 syllables. This is the obvious choice based off of the
way the word is spelled. But to make it fit, the better choice is “re-mem-b'red” which is 3 syllables and
makes for a better scan.
The next are the highlighted blue words in the sonnet. You will see these are the verbs in the sonnet.
These are your power words. They are the beginning place to start to make meaning.

#3 Make Meaning
The sonnets were actually meant to be read and not performed and when we translate them into
performance, we have to make some decisions about what is going on. We have to answer three main
questions:

Who am I?
Who am I talking to?
What do I want?
These questions will start to make a story around your particular sonnet. These questions are the
launching point of your sonnet, and are the beginnings of your journey with the sonnet. Once you have
solidified what is going on in the sonnet, you must then create the story around it.
The next step is to paraphrase the entire monologue into your own words. Here is an example:

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, /When I’ve fallen out of favor with fortune and men,
I all alone beweep my outcast state /All alone I weep over my position as a social outcast,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries /And pray to heaven, but my cries go unheard,
And look upon myself and curse my fate, /And I look at myself, cursing my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, /Wishing I were like one who had more hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd, /Wishing I looked like him; wishing I were surrounded by friends,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope, /Wishing I had this man's skill and that man's freedom.
With what I most enjoy contented least; /I am least contented with what I used to enjoy most.
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, /But, with these thoughts – almost despising myself,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state, /I, by chance, think of you and then my melancholy
Like to the lark at break of day arising /Like the lark at the break of day, rises
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; /From the dark earth and (I) sing hymns to heaven;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings /For thinking of your love brings such happiness
That then I scorn to change my state with kings. /That then I would not change my position in life with kings.

In this paraphrase, put it in words that you can understand. The point is that you understand it and if
you do, then everyone else will.
After this you continue to refine your meaning and begin to make strong choices with the work, you
will, through the rehearsal process be ready to go. After doing this preliminary work, you will be ready
to get it on it's feet and breathe life into the speech! Hopefully this helps you all get off to a good start
Sincerely,
Starr Hardgrove