British & World LiteratureUnit 2, Session 1October 4, 2012

LOVE SONNETS

Working to provide an exemplary individualized

and engaging educational experience for all students.

•Note I suggest you listen to the recording of the session for full details

Warm-up

• Francesco Petrarch and the Italian Sonnet

• Sonnet Quiz Flashcards

• Braingle: Sonnets Quiz

Common Core Georgia Performance Standards• ELACC9-10RL2: Determine a theme or central idea of text

and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

• ELACC11-12RL5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

• ELACC11-12SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CoupletDictionEpicFigurative languageHumanismImageryMetaphorMeterNarrative poem

OctavePersonificationQuatrainRenaissanceRhymeRhyme schemeRhythmSestetSimileSpeakerStyletone

Keywords to know

•couplet : two consecutive lines of poetry

•diction : the choice of words used by a speaker or writer

•epic : a long narrative poem that celebrates the deeds of a heroic figure

•figurative language : language that uses figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, and personification for poetic effect rather than for precise, factual meaning; for example, "Her eyes are like stars" is figurative language, in contrast to the literal use of "stars" in "The stars are shining tonight"

humanism :a movement during the Renaissance that emphasized secular ideas and concerns, based on classical studies

imagery : language that creates a mental picture by appealing to the senses, that makes readers see, hear, smell, taste, or feel things in their imagination; for example, "the coal-black night," "the stinging cold," "the rapping and tapping of rain on the roof"

metaphor : a figure of speech that suggests or states a comparison between two unlike things, without using such words as like or as; for example, "The cat´s eyes were emeralds shining in the night."

meter : the arrangement of words in poetry based on rhythm, accents, and the number of syllables in a line

narrative poem : a poem that tells a storyoctave : a stanza of eight lines in a poempersonification : giving human qualities

to a thing or abstraction; for example, "The kettle sang on the hearth," or "After the victory, freedom held its head high in the nation."

quatrain : a stanza of four lines in a poemRenaissance : a general time period

stretching from roughly the fourteenth century to as late as the seventeenth century when the arts and intellectual activity flourished in Europe

rhyme : words with similar ending sounds such as hit/bit, yellow/fellow, bark/park, and so on; when words at the end of a line of poetry or verse sound the same, the lines are said to rhyme

rhyme scheme : the pattern of rhymes made by the final words or sounds in the lines of a poem, typically designated by a different letter of the alphabet to represent each rhyme Roses are red a Violets are blue b Sugar is sweet c So are you b

rhythm : a regular pattern of sound and beats within a poem

sestet : a stanza of six lines in a poemsimile : a figure of speech that compares two

things, usually using the words like or as; for example, "like a thief in the night," "quiet as a mouse"

speaker : the imaginary person who speaks the words of a poem, not necessarily the poet

style : the words the writer chooses and the way the writer arranges the words into sentences

tone : the attitude of the writer toward the topic or subject

Poet vs. Speaker • As with the study of any poem, you make a distinction between the poet and the speaker when reading and analyzing sonnets.

• The poet is the writer of the work; Petrarch and Shakespeare are the poets

• The speaker is the narrator of the poem. That is, just as a prose author may write a novel told from the point of view of a fictional narrator, poets may write verse from the point of view of a fictional speaker.

How to Read a Poem

1. OrganizationPunctuation &

Read lines according to organization & punctuation

2. Paraphrase Put it in your own wordsOrganization

3. Figurative language Interpret figurative language

4. Sensory image Use your senses

Strategies for Understanding Poetry

1. Read according to punctuation

• Punctuation in poems indicates when to pause or stop reading.

•Keep reading when there is no punctuation at the end of a line

•Pause at commas, dashes, colons, semi-colons (, - : ;)

•Stop at end marks (. ! ?)

1. Stanza

2. Line

3. Foot

• 4. Meter

Parts of a Poem

Like a paragraph

Like a sentence

Like a word

Like a syllable

1. Stanza: a division or section of a poem 1. They are named for the quantity of lines it contains. couplet = two lines quatrain = four lines

2. Line: basic unit of poetic form

3. Foot: A basic unit of rhythm within a line, with one stressed and one unstressed syllable in it

4. Meter: the rhythm or repeating pattern in poetry

1. window (win stressed dow unstressed) casino (ca unstressed si stressed no unstressed

Parts of a poem

•A line of Iambic Pentameter is a line with ten beats.

•An “Iamb” is two beats, or one “foot.”•“Penta” is five (line has five “feet”).•“Meter” is the rhythm of the poem.•A “foot” is made of an unstressed syllable and a stressed syllable (in that order).

Iambic Pentameter

2. Paraphrase

•Putting the poem in your own words to make sure you understand it.

3. Interpret figurative language

• Figurative language is language that is not intended

to be taken word for word. It sets up comparisons that help readers see things in new ways or form a vivid mental picture of something

• She is as happy as a clam• It’s raining cats and dogs• It is a million miles away

4. Use your senses

•Being descriptive by using your senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, or taste) to help paint a picture

Sensory Image

•Appeals to our 5 senses•Sweet, sour, bitter•Icy, sweltering•Humongous, tiny•Booming

Understanding the forms, meter, rhyme, and other aspects of the sonnet .

WHAT IS A SONNET?

SonnetsHistorical Background• The sonnet is a form of poetry that exalts human love and

praises the poet's or speaker's beloved. • The development of the sonnet is closely related to the rise

of a philosophy known as humanism. • Humanism: a movement during the Renaissance that emphasized secular

ideas and concerns, based on classical studies

• Every literary period is a reaction to the ideals of the previous period.

• Humanism is a philosophy that inquires into and deeply considers human experiences; and of these experiences, one of the most common is love.

• Love poetry during the Renaissance blossomed with the creation of a poetic form that has stood the test of time: the sonnet.

• Writing a sonnet is like playing a poetic game that has strict, specific rules, rules established during the Renaissance and followed by poets ever since.

• A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter with a carefully patterned rhyme scheme. Other strict, short poetic forms occur in English poetry (the sestina, the villanelle, and the haiku, for example), but none has been used so successfully by so many different poets.

The Sonnet

Petrarchan SonnetsPetrarch, a humanist philosopher, deeply experienced one of the most common of human experiences: unrequited love.

In his sonnets, he dwells on this love and how it both enriches and challenges him. Humanism holds as a worthy subject all human experience; and Petrarch, a father of humanism, makes use of the compact, dense language of the sonnet to grapple with what many human hearts endure. (check link)

Shakespearean SonnetsThe person who is arguably the greatest playwright in history is also one of the greatest poets.

Composing sonnets became a fad in England during Shakespeare's day; more than 1,200 sonnets survive just from the decade beginning in 1590. The sonnet was the perfect canvas on which the writer could display his wit, his clever use of language, and his imagination.

By the time Shakespeare's 154 sonnets were published in 1609, however, the vogue for sonnets had passed. Yet Shakespeare's sonnets, in time, were acknowledged as masterpieces of thoughtful poetry that transcend the playful, courtly sonnets that were in fashion during his time. (show link)

Let’s compare the two styles of sonnet…Petrarchan Sonnet Shakespearean Sonnet

The Italian form of the sonnet consists of 14 lines divided into an octave (eight lines) followed by a sestet (six lines).

The English sonnet also has 14 lines, but they are divided into three quatrains (four lines each) and a rhyming couplet (two lines).

The turn, or volta, occurs at the beginning of the sestet, in line 9.

The turn, or volta, comes at the beginning of line 13 – that is, the beginning of the couplet.

The octave’s rhyme scheme is almost always the same. abbaabba Sometimes you may see the octave rhyme scheme abbacddc or even (rarely) ababababThe sestet’s rhyme scheme can vary but the A and B rhymes of the octave cannot be used again.,

Each quatrain consists of two pairs of alternating rhyming lines, and the sonnet ends with a rhyming couplet.The rhyme scheme is almost always : abab cdcd efef gg.

When written in English, Petrarchan sonnets are written in iambic pentameter. When they are written in Italian, they do not follow this meter because it does not lend itself to the language.

Shakespearean sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, which means that each line contains 10 syllables and every second syllable is stressed.

•The form into which a poet puts his or her words is always something of which the reader ought to take conscious note. And when poets have chosen to work within such a strict form, that form and its strictures make up part of what they want to say. In other words, the poet is using the structure of the poem as part of the language act: we will find the "meaning" not only in the words, but partly in their pattern as well.

The Sonnet

•The sonnet can be thematically divided into two sections:

•The first presents the theme, raises an issue or doubt,

•The second part answers the question, resolves the problem, or drives home the poem's point.

•The turn, or change, in the poem helps move forward the emotional action of the poem quickly.

The Sonnet

•The Italian form, in some ways the simpler of the two, usually …..

•projects and develops a subject in the octet,

• then executes a turn at the beginning of the sestet

•so that the sestet can in some way release the tension built up in the octave.

The Sonnet

Farewell Love and all thy laws for ever, a

Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more; b

Senec and Plato call me from thy lore b

To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavour. a

In blind error when I did persever, a

Thy sharp repulse, that pricketh aye so sore, b

Hath taught me to set in trifles no store b

And scape forth, since liberty is lever. a

Therefore farewell; go trouble younger hearts c

And in me claim no more authority; d

With idle youth go use thy property d

And thereon spend thy many brittle darts. c

For hitherto though I have lost all my time, e

Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb. e

- Wyatt Devonshire (1557)

“Farewell Love and all thy laws for ever”

•The Shakespearean sonnet has a wider range of possibilities. •One pattern introduces an idea in the first quatrain

•complicates it in the second•complicates it still further in the third•resolves the whole thing in the final couplet.

The Sonnet

When 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 - William Shakespeare

“Sonnet 138” or “When My Love Swears that She is Made of Truth”

{First quatrain; note the puns and the intellectual games: [I know she lies, so I believe her so that she will believe me to be young and untutored]} {Second quatrain: [Well of course I know that she doesn't really think I'm young, but I have to pretend to believe her so that she will pretend that I'm young]} {Third quatrain: [so why don't we both fess up? because love depends upon trust and upon youth]} {Final couplet, and resolution: [we lie to ourselves and to each other, so that we may flatter ourselves that we are young, honest, and in love]. Note especially the puns.

•Pay close attention to line-end punctuation, especially at lines four, eight, and twelve, and to connective words like and, or, but, as, so, if, then, when, or which at the beginnings of lines (especially lines five, nine, and thirteen).

The Sonnet: punctuation

•Has 14 lines.•Must be written in iambic pentameter•Must follow a specific rhyme scheme, depending on the type of sonnet.

•Can be about any subject, though they are often about love or nature.

•Introduces a problem or question in the beginning, and a resolution is offered after the turn.

Review: Sonnet Form

•The Italian, or Petrarchan sonnet:•Fourteen lines • Iambic pentameter•Consists of an octet (eight lines) of two envelope quatrains•Usually abba abba, •Sometimes abba cddc, •Or rarely abab abab; •The turn occurs at the end of the octet and is developed and closed in the sestet.

•And a sestet (six lines)•Which may rhyme xyzxyz •Or xyxyxy

Review

•The English or Shakespearean sonnet:

•Fourteen lines •Iambic pentameter•Consists of three Sicilian quatrains (four lines)

•And a heroic couplet (two lines)•Rhymes: abab cdcd efef gg•The turn comes at or near line 13

Review

•We are going analyze a sonnet to determine what “type” of sonnet it is…..

•Ask yourself the following questions

•What are the groupings of the lines (how many lines are in each group)?

•What is the rhyme scheme?•Where is the turn?•Based on your answers, what kind of sonnet is it?

What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”?

Fourteen small broidered berries on the hemOf Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold;Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolledInto the sea, for pearls to come of them;Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gemWith which Medea human fate foretold;Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old,Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem.It is the pure white diamond Dante broughtTo Beatrice; the sapphire Laura woreWhen Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought;The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core;The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wroughtFor his own soul, to wear for evermore.~Eugene Lee-Hamilton

“What the Sonnet is”

•What are the groupings of the lines (how many lines are in each group)?

Fourteen small broidered berries on the hemOf Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold;Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolledInto the sea, for pearls to come of them;Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gemWith which Medea human fate foretold;Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old,Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem.It is the pure white diamond Dante broughtTo Beatrice; the sapphire Laura woreWhen Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought;The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core;The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wroughtFor his own soul, to wear for evermore.~Eugene Lee-Hamilton

“What the Sonnet is”

Fourteen small broidered berries on the hemOf Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold;Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolledInto the sea, for pearls to come of them;Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gemWith which Medea human fate foretold;Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old,Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem.It is the pure white diamond Dante broughtTo Beatrice; the sapphire Laura woreWhen Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought;The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core;The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wroughtFor his own soul, to wear for evermore.

What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”?

•What is the rhyme scheme?

Fourteen small broidered berries on the hemOf Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold;Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolledInto the sea, for pearls to come of them;Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gemWith which Medea human fate foretold;Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old,Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem.It is the pure white diamond Dante broughtTo Beatrice; the sapphire Laura woreWhen Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought;The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core;The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wroughtFor his own soul, to wear for evermore.~Eugene Lee-Hamilton

“What the Sonnet is”

Fourteen small broidered berries on the hemOf Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold;Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolledInto the sea, for pearls to come of them;Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gemWith which Medea human fate foretold;Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old,Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem.It is the pure white diamond Dante broughtTo Beatrice; the sapphire Laura woreWhen Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought;The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core;The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wroughtFor his own soul, to wear for evermore.

What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”?

•Where is the turn?

Fourteen small broidered berries on the hemOf Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold;Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolledInto the sea, for pearls to come of them;Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gemWith which Medea human fate foretold;Fourteen small drops, which Faustus, growing old,Craved of the Fiend, to water Life’s dry stem.It is the pure white diamond Dante broughtTo Beatrice; the sapphire Laura woreWhen Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought;The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core;The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wroughtFor his own soul, to wear for evermore.~Eugene Lee-Hamilton

“What the Sonnet is”

•The turn in this sonnet is between the octave and the sestet, or after eight lines.

•The period at the end of line eight is a clue that this is the turn, especially because it is one of only two periods in the sonnet.

•Before the turn, the speaker is telling of groups of fourteen; after the turn, he tells of who wrote the sonnets.

What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”?

What type of sonnet is

“What the Sonnet Is”?

“What the Sonnet Is” is an Italian/Petrarchan

Sonnet!

What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”?

Organization1. Stanzas are made up of

2. Lines are made up of

3. Meter are made up of

4. Feet