write your own Shakespearean Sonnet

Ms. Knowles

How to

Don’t over think it• A Shakespearean sonnet is not difficult to construct. The

difficulty is in perfecting it.

• Your goal should not be to create a perfect sonnet on your first attempt. Enjoy the creative process and have fun developing your poetry skills.

• Don’t stop your creativity from flowing because of a technicality. Have fun and write an English sonnet.

Format• A sonnet consists of:• 14 lines• 4 stanzas consisting of- 3 quatrains and

1 couplet– A quatrain consists of 4 lines.– A couplet consists of two lines.

Line 1Line 2Line 3Line 4 Quatrain One/Stanza One Line 5Line 6Line 7Line 8 Quatrain Two/Stanza Two Line 9Line 10Line 11Line 12 Quatrain Three/Stanza Three Line 13Line 14 Couplet One/Stanza Four

Rhyme Scheme• You have to follow a specific rhyming scheme

when constructing a Shakespearean sonnet. It looks like this ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

Line 1 ALine 2 BLine 3 ALine 4 B Quatrain One/Stanza One Line 5 CLine 6 DLine 7 CLine 8 D Quatrain Two/Stanza Two Line 9 E Line 10 FLine 11 ELine 12 F Quatrain Three/Stanza Three Line 13 GLine 14 G Couplet One/Stanza Four

Iambic Pentameter or “da-DUM”

• This is the beat of your poem. • Iambic means foot or measure.• You can only use 10 syllables per line with an accent on the

2nd ,4th ,6th , 8th and 10th syllable.• Words do NOT equal Syllables.• The foot/measure of a Shakespearean sonnet is 2 syllables with

a da-DUM beat/accent. Pentameter is used to describe 5 feet/beats.

• You can look at the da-DUM as unstressed (da) and stressed (DUM)

• da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM

• (this represents a line of iambic pentameter) • You notice 5 da-Dum’s which total 10 syllables. Each line must

use this meter.

Example

My LOVE for YOU is LIKE the HARD est RAIN

da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM

Tell a story• The 3 quatrains: • However you choose to use the first three stanzas is up to you.

• The 3 stanzas can also be looked at as beginning/issue, middle/transition and conflict/dilemma.

• Suggestion: Use the first 4 lines or first stanza to set the tone or mood.

Tell a story con’td• The single couplet:• This is the resolution of the story presented in the poem.

• In other words, the couplet is your summation and conclusion to your story.

• You want to make sure you try and tell a story with a couplet conclusion when writing a Shakespearean sonnet. Do not write 14 rhyming lines that just describe love, anger, an object, a thought, etc.

• The Shakespearean sonnet is not 14 lines of descriptive poetry. It has a beginning, middle and an end.

Punctuation• You can use punctuation as you wish. • Use it to aid in the flow of the poem when read

aloud. • Essentially, punctuation should provide a pause

or bring an end to a thought.

• Punctuation also allows you to break up your line.

• You don’t have to write a continuous sentence. Your 10 syllables can be broken up by punctuation to convey your idea and maintain the form of the sonnet.

Analyzing your Sonnet template

• Look at the sonnets you have been given.

• Your job is now to choose a poem and analyze and annotate it.

Tips

• Themes: Shakespearean sonnets often take on the realms of love, beauty, immortality, or human life in general.

• Create a template: grab a sheet of paper and write 10 dashes on it with the da-DUM below the dashes.

•  • _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    _____    ____

_• da          DUM     da          DUM     da          DUM     da          DUM     da  

        DUM

Remember• It is okay to have several drafts!

• I am not expecting perfection.

• Have fun and be poetic!

Sonnet 130 template

My 1______________________________’s 2______________________________ are nothing like the 3____________________________; 4______________________________ are far more 5______________________________ than its 6______________________________; If 7___________________________ be 8____________________________, why then its 9___________________________ are 10________________________; If 11______________________________ be 12______________________________, 13______________________________ grow on its 14______________________________. I have seen 15______________________________, 16______________________________, 17______________________________ and 18______________________________, But no such 19______________________________ see I in its 20______________________________; And in some 21______________________________ is there more 22______________________________ Than in the 23______________________________ that from it 24______________________________. I love to hear its 25______________________________, yet well I know That 26______________________________ hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a 27______________________________ go; When it 28______________________________, it 29______________________________ on the 30____________________________; And yet, 31______________________________, I think it as 32______________________________ As any 33______________________________ 34______________________________ with 35______________________________.

Sonnet 18 templateShall I compare thee to a _____________________ ______________________?

Thou art more __________________ and more ___________________.

________________ ___________________ do ________________ the______________ ________________ of _______________,

And __________________ ____________________ hath all too short a _________________.

Sometime too ______________________ the _____________________ of _______________________shines,

And often is his __________________________ ________________________dimmed;

And every ____________________ from ______________________ sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s ___________________ ________________ _________________;

But thy eternal _________________________ shall not _______________________,

Nor lose possession of that __________________________thou __________________________,

Nor shall ______________________________ brag thou in his shade,

When in ___________________________ _________________________to time thou grow’st.

So long as men can ___________________________ ,or eyes can ________________________,

So long ________________________ this, and this gives _________________________ to thee.