Aim: How can further implementation of our poetry skills enhance our exploration and analysis of Shakespearean Sonnets?
Do Now: Think/Pair/Share
With your partner, consider the word “Summer”. What symbolic meanings or connotations are usually associated with this word? Why?
Class started with the do now, which most people answered with similar words like fun, the beach, sun, etc. Most of the answers that they thought of were positive connotations when they thought of the word “Summer”.
Structure of a Shakespearean Sonnet
Shakespearean sonnets are structure-specific:
Shakespearean sonnets are fourteen line poems.
They are traditionally about love and romance.
Divided into four parts: three quatrains (four lines each) and a rhyming couplet at the end of the poem (two lines)
First quatrain introduces the subject
Second quatrain complicates the subject
The couplet resolves or alters the subject in some way
Follows the rhyme scheme- ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter (a metric line consisting of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables)
We were told that we can find the definition of words by their prefixes and suffixes, then Ms. Peterson gave us some examples of this case.
Structure of a Shakespearean Sonnet--Continued
Each syllable in a word is either stressed (hard) or unstressed (soft) based on the pronunciation of the letters. Stressed syllables are marked with a / over the letters; unstressed are marked with a u.
An Iambic foot contains two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed. Iambic measure is often called the heartbeat meter because of its similarity of the rhythm of the human heart. Note the following terms with an iambic rhythm:
/ u / u / u / u / u / u
a. Phoenix b. Forbid c. anew c. in turn d. repair e. heaven
Understand iambic pentameter: Iambic pentameter (five-measure) is a line of five iambic feet. The line has a total of ten syllables repeating the pattern of “unstressed, stressed” five times. Identify the iambic pentameter below using / for stressed and u for unstressed, then write and mark two lines below.
Often, a pet’s soft whine outcries the son’s
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day
Ms. Peterson read the sentences, which gave an example of iambic pentameter and how it sounded. Then we watched a video on Iambic Pentameter:https://www.
This video gave a better understanding of Iambic Pentameter and how it’s used every day. Keep the following chart in mind when analyzing poetry.
SPIRIT READING:
Sonnet 18
1 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (A)
2 Thou art more lovely and more temperate: (B)
3 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A)
4 And summer's lease hath all too short a date: (B)
5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (C)
6 And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; (D)
7 And every fair from fair sometime declines, (C)
8 By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; (D)
9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade (E)
10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; (F)
11 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, (E)
12 When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; (F)
13 So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, (G)
14 So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (G)
After annotating the poem, we watched a video that explained more about sonnets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
The video showed how sonnets can be used to create a pattern that can be calming and soothing to us by following a certain rhyme scheme and pattern.
Group work:
We were sent to breakout rooms to work together on the questions on slides 6-8.
Using the capital letters A-G, mark the poem for its rhyme scheme. In Quatrain One: According to the speaker, how does this subject compare to summer? Which does he prefer?
The speaker is comparing summer to that of a person. It then describes the person as “more lovely and more temperate”. The speaker then says how summer is “all too short a date” and has “rough winds”.
In Quatrain Two: What are the problems the speaker has with summer?
What does line 7 mean (“and every fair from fair sometimes declines”)?
In Quatrain two, the speaker complains about summer’s many issues that they have. Like for example, “Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines”, which could mean how summer is too hot for the speaker and they find that a problem.
Line 7 could mean that summer loses its beauty because of its issues, with a word like “declines” points to this possible meaning.
In Quatrain Three: According to the speaker, what is the main difference between the subject of the sonnet and summer?
The main difference between the subject of the sonnet and summer is the difference between the lasting of the subject and summer. The poem states how the subject will forever hold their beauty, whereas summer’s beauty is temporally existent and will fade.
Rhyming Couplet: Look at lines 13-14. What is the speaker saying in the conclusion of the sonnet? Does this confirm the messages expressed in the rest of the sonnet or alter them in some way?
With the quote “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee,” I think that the message that is being expressed is that as long as the poem exists, the subjects beauty is always there and never falters.
What is the theme of this sonnet?
The theme of this sonnet is how the beauty of the subject is better than that of summers. With positive connotations to describe the subject, and negative ones to describe summer.
After finishing the questions, we went back to review each other’s answers and have found similar answers for each question, then we read sonnet 130.
Sonnet 130
1 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun, A
2 Coral is far more red, than her lips red, B
3 If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun: A
4 If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head: B
5 I have seen roses damasked, red and white, ©
6 But no such roses see I in her cheeks, D
7 And in some perfumes is there more delight, C
8 Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. D
9 I love to hear her speak, yet well I know, E
10 That music hath a far more pleasing sound: F
11 I grant I never saw a goddess go, E
12 My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. F
13 And yet by heaven I think my love as rare, G
14 As any she belied with false compare. G
Group work:
We were sent to breakout rooms to do questions 1-6
In Quatrain One: How does the speaker describe his mistress? What specific attributes does he reference?
Using lines like “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun, Coral is far more red, that her lips red,” insult the speaker’s mistress, describing unappealing characteristics. Another case of this was “If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head,” which describes more and more about the speaker’s mistress.
In Quatrain Two: How does the speaker speak to: her cheeks, and her breath?
The speaker describes her cheeks and breath as “no such roses see I in her cheeks...breath that from my mistress reeks,” is used to describe them. Described as pale and breath that stinks
In Quatrain Three: According to the speaker, how does he address his mistress’ voice and walk?
How does this contrast with what most people would claim about their mistresses?
Contrasting to the descriptions of most people would say about their mistresses, the description of her voice was negative, with lines like “I love to hear her speak, yet well I know, That music hath a far more pleasing sound.” This line describes her voice in a tone that is worse than music. Others would probably say how great their mistresses are but not the speaker.
Rhyming Couplet: Look at lines 13-14. What is the speaker saying in the conclusion of the sonnet? Why does the poet think his love is rare?
How does the poet play with conventional stereotypes of love poetry?
The conclusion of the sonnet is that the speaker loves his mistress despite her bad appearance. This point is a unique take on stereotypes, with a negative connotation on her descriptions yet leaves a positive tone with his love being strong. This was a rare love, with the speaker describing his mistress badly but had still loved her.
How is the speaker's lover an inversion or parody (an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect) of the petrarchan (A Petrarchan lover is melodramatic, self-consciously suffering and has given himself up to the power of his mistress) and medieval lover?
How has Shakespeare used juxtaposition, and for what purpose?
In what way(s) has the writer’s focus on physical beauty enhanced the emphasis and relevance on the theme for society at the time?
How is this theme still relevant and prevalent today?
The speaker’s lover is an inversion of the unique type of poem it is. Most poems in the past were simply of lovers in a positive tone and that’s that, but this sonnet was special, nearly different from those of that time. Shakespeare has used juxtaposition by comparing his love with how he describes his lover, this being a major factor to the message to the sonnet. The comparison gives an easier to grasp idea of what the speaker is trying to send. The focus on physical beauty enhanced the relevance of the theme even now by showing the existence of beauty standards existing even now, not much has changed and both the past and present have beauty standards that have been put on women.
Reflection:
This lesson was a great one, I learned many things about Shakespeare and a new type of poetry: sonnets. Sonnets must be 14 lines and have a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, this is a type of writing that Shakespeare had used to create many sonnets that are unique and powerful even today. Another thing I learned today was Iambic Pentameters, which is used in our everyday speech, such a common thing that that most people don’t even know. With what I learned today, I increased my knowledge of poetry and writing in general. This information helps me with understanding older pieces of writing and what was used to help them with their magical poems.
No comments:
Post a Comment