The Sonnet

Standard and Learning Objective3.11 Evaluate the aesthetic qualities of style, including the impact of diction and figurative language on tone, mood, and theme, using the terminology of literary criticism. (Aesthetic approach)

Objective – Students will demonstrate their understanding for the aesthetic qualities of sonnets by identifying and interpreting the style characteristics of sonnets with 100% accuracy.

The Building Blocks of a Sonnet

1. A Sonnet is 14 lines long.

2. These lines are divided into 2 sections- The first section is called an octet (8

lines)- The second section is called a sestet

(6 lines)

Another Sonnet for StephanBy: Alvin Lester Sitomer

I see a little boy of four or fiveWhose face lights up whenever we would playWho made me feel it’s great to be aliveAnd wish that time would never tick awayI see a college youth who goes to Penn,Strong and handsome, smart in mind and dress,Enthusiastic, kind, who scores a “ten,”Possessing every trait that spells success. I see the man who came from both those boysCreating business plans and paths to wealthWith nonchalance, with skills and unique poiseWhile fighting back attackers of his health.The boy, the youth, the man are each now gone,Except that in my heart they linger on.

Octet(8 Lines)

Sestet(6 Lines)

Vocabulary

1. Meter – rhythmical pattern of a poem determined by the number and types of stresses, or beats, in each line.

2. Foot – a measurement of rhythm made up of a group of stressed and unstressed syllables divided by vertical lines (|)

3. Penta – means FIVE

Each line in a Sonnet has a special rhythm.

The rhythm is created by iambs.iamb – is a Foot where one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

Example:I see a little boy of four or five

The iambs are:

I see | a lit | tle boy | of four | or fiveu / u / u / u / u /

The sonnet’s rhythm sounds like:Dee DUM Dee DUM Dee DUM Dee DUM Like a heart beat

iamb = Dee DUMU /

The iambs are:

I see | a lit | tle boy | of four | or fiveu / u / u / u / u /

Since each foot in a sonnet is an iamb and there are five iambs in each line, the rhythmic pattern of a sonnet is called Iambic Pentameter.

Iambic Pentameter – a rhythmic pattern made up of 5 iambs

Check Out Iambic Pentameter video

12

Heartbeat.• It has the rhythm of the

human heart beat.

13

William Shakespeare

Wrote 154 Sonnetsusing iambic Pentameter to create a romantic rhythm to express emotions and to represent formal speech.

Let’s Practice

I see a little boy of four or fiveWhose face lights up whenever we would playWho made me feel it’s great to be aliveAnd wish that time would never tick away

Identify the Iambic Pentameter

Whose face lights up whenever we would play

Whose face | lights up | whenev |er we | would play u / u / u / u / u /

Identify the Iambic Pentameter

Who made me feel it’s great to be alive

Who made | me feel | it’s great | to be | alive u / u / u / u / u /

Review

• A sonnet is 14 lines long• A sonnet is made up with an octet (8 lines) and a

sestet (6 lines)• Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter

because each line has a special rhythm and a special length

• An iamb provides the rhythm of 1 unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

• The 5 iambs in each line create the pentameter.

The Sonnet Rhyming Scheme is:

a, b, a, b, c, d, c, d, e, f, e, f, g, g

Another Sonnet for StephanBy: Alvin Lester Sitomer

I see a little boy of four or fiveWhose face lights up whenever we would playWho made me feel it’s great to be aliveAnd wish that time would never tick awayI see a college youth who goes to Penn,Strong and handsome, smart in mind and dress,Enthusiastic, kind, who scores a “ten,”Possessing every trait that spells success. I see the man who came from both those boysCreating business plans and paths to wealthWith nonchalance, with skills and unique poiseWhile fighting back attackers of his health.The boy, the youth, the man are each now gone,Except that in my heart they linger on.

(a)(b)(a)(b)(c)(d)(c)(d)

(e)(f)(e)(f)(g)(g)

Heroic Couplet

• Are the last two lines that rhyme and are labeled g, g in the rhyme scheme.

• Usually summarizes the sonnet’s earlier lines.

Let’s analyze a Sonnet together.

• Go to the Heritage Website, • Mr. Dorflinger’s Page,• Open the Sonnet Page• Download Sonnet 29 • Watch Sonnet 29 video after

reading