Sonnet 116 Extension Activity

7/23/2019 Sonnet 116 Extension Activity

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AQA Moon on the Tides (Poetry Anthology), relationships cluster

‘Sonnet 116’ by William Shakespeare

© www.teachit.co.uk 2010 14242 Page 1 of 4

Objective: to explore a variety of ways that love can be defined, to help exploreShakespeare’s poem ‘Sonnet 116’.

Forrest Gump said “I’m not a smart man … but I know what love is.”

One definition is that it is a ‘profoundly tender, passionate affection foranother person.’ It is a very subjective thing – people view love (which is anabstract concept) in different ways.

Write your own definition of love below. As a starting point, you may wish to consider:how long it lasts, whether it can be overcome or prevented, how important it is in life,how many different forms in can take.

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Love can be seen in many different ways. Match these definitions with the ‘types’ of

love. Talk to one another and use a dictionary.

Type of love DefinitionMatch

i.e.‘1D’

Extensionactivity‘code’

1. Unrequitedlove

a) Fondness for the other person, but thesedays, usually referring to a watered downversion of the real deal!

2. Infatuation b) Love that is, for some reason, frownedupon or not allowed. This can sometimesmake the love all the more alluring.

3. Affection c) A purely spiritual love, the type of loveexplored in the teachings of Plato.

4. Filial love d) Loving someone, but not being loved back.

5. Platonic love e) Obsessive, foolish and all absorbing lovethat is often unrealistic.

6. Friendship f) The love of a child for a parent or carer.

7. Romantic

love

g) Where one person promises to always love

the other, to stand by them, whateverhappens.

8. Committedlove

h) The love that someone can feel for abuddy, like being best friends.

9. Courtly love i) Loving someone passionately; beingattracted to that person.

10. Forbiddenlove

j) A traditional way for a man to behavewhen he loves someone, which comes fromthe medieval period and was used a lot in

Shakespeare’s plays, like in Romeo and Juliet – the man must pledge his undyinglove, and the woman must pretend to notbe interested!

Extension : For each ‘type’ of love, use the column to the right to ‘code’ it, usingthe following key. You may use more than one, as appropriate:

i) This is rarely seen/experienced.ii) Common or easily acquired.

iii) Much sought after.iv) Undervalued.






Look at these common ideas about love – discuss them with a partner.

Famous quotations:

Extension – How many of these quotations use figurative language? Look for similes,metaphors, or imagery. Why do people use figurative language when talking aboutlove? (You could even say ‘ ‘resort to’ using it …’).

I love him, but I’mnot in love with him

anymore.

I cannot choose tolove you. It’s not mydecision! Love has a

mind of its own.

If you don’t waterthe flower of love,

it dies.

Better to have loved and lost,than to have never loved at all.

St Augustine

I grew to love him because wewere compatible and wantedthe same things. I made myselffall in love with him.

You have to love yourself

first, before you can properlylove someone else.

Love is all there is!

The Beatles

The course of true love never did runsmooth.

William Shakespeare

Keep love in your heart.A life without it is like asunless garden when theflowers are dead. The

consciousness of lovingand being loved brings awarmth and richnessthat nothing else canbring.

Oscar Wilde

Marriage is not a noun, it’s a verb. Itisn’t a thing you get. It’s somethingyou do. It’s the way you love yourpartner every day.

Barbara De Angelis






Now read Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 116’. Discuss the poem with a partner and see if you

can jot down some of its main ideas.The prompts below should give you some ideas and help you to get started …

Love doesn’t change when it encounters change. Love is like a star which guides every lost ship at sea.

Summarise what you think Shakespeare is trying to tell us about love.

Discuss: is his message something that we already know? Do you think the message isstill important these days?

Documents

Sonnet 116 Extension Activity