Aim: How can further implementation of our poetry skills enhance our exploration and analysis of Shakespearean Sonnets ?
Today’s lesson had to be done asynchronously and we were encouraged to work with our group.
Do Now: Think/Pair/Share
With your partner, consider the word “Summer”. What symbolic meanings or connotations are usually associated with this word? Why?
The Do Now asks students to look into the word “Summer” and finds words that were synonymous or representative of the word. Then we had to determine whether the connotation of the word was positive or negative. For my response I put, the word “Summer” often has a symbolic meaning of eternal happiness and liveliness overall. It has a positive connotation because the things often associated with Summer are often things that people view as positive.
Class Notes
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)
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
We were provided a video to watch about iambic pentameter.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Sonnet 18 is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known sonnets and even if you aren’t familiar with the entire poem, you have likely heard the first line (it is often alluded to in other forms of pop culture). Pay attention to rhyme scheme, figurative language, diction and tone and as you read annotate the poem for meaning.
Keep the following mnemonic device in mind: ANALYSIS OF POETRY
In summary, the iambic pentameter is a poetic device that uses a metrical line that includes unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables. An iambic foot is a pair of syllables in which one is unstressed while the second one is stressed. An iambic measure is often called the heartbeat meter because of its similar rhythm to the heart’s. William Shakespeare uses the iambic pentameter inside his sonnets which is a fourteen line poem that has a strict rhyme scheme. (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG)
Next we were given Shakespeare's sonnet 18 to analyze.
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
We were provided a video on sonnets.
LINK TO VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 followed the rhythmic pattern of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poem itself compares summer to the beauty of the subject. The beauty of this subject was eternal unlike that of summer. While summer had its own downside which was mentioned in Quatrain Two. Summer comes and goes every year unlike the beauty of the subject which remains all year round. In the last couplets, the speaker states that the beauty of the subject will last forever so long that there are people to admire them. Lastly, I found that the theme of the poem was that there are some beauties that last forever or some things never change.
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, C
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
Then we analyze Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 which in its own way was a parody that poked fun of the typical Petrarchan poems at that time. A Petrarchan poem was a love poem that praised the beauties of the mistress. The mistress can be seen as eye candy or an obsession in some way. Shakespeare’s take on the poem points out all the faults of the mistress. The speaker compares all these things that are much more beautiful and superior compared to the mistress. An example would be when the speaker compares their mistress’ breath to that of the scent of the perfume. They point out the fact that their mistress’ breath is often unpleasant. This basically goes against all the normal societal stereotypes of the type. In contrast to the rest of the sonnet, the last two lines twist the poem and the speaker states that they love their mistress and how she is very much like the rest of the other women.
Reflection
For today’s lesson we learned about sonnets and the way sonnets are structured. Along with this we learn about the poetic device of iambic pentameter and how it is used. This helps us better understand poetry and how versatile it is. Poetry takes on many forms. The new poetic device that we learn helps us better understand the works of William Shakespeare and how he constructed his sonnets. This is important because there is very little known about William Shakespeare.
Here on more videos on sonnets and iambic pentameter
LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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