sonnets

THE SONNET

TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS

BACKGROUND The sonnet originated in Sicily in the 13th Century with

Giacomo da Lentino (1188-1240), a lawyer., who wrote his poems in the Sicilian dialect of Italian

. Some authorities credit another Italian, Guittone d'Arezzo (1230-1294), with originating the sonnet.

The English word "sonnet" comes from the Italian word "sonetto," meaning "little song." Some early sonnets were set to music, with accompaniment provided by a lute.

The Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374), a Roman Catholic priest, popularized the sonnet more than two centuries before Shakespeare was born. Other popular Italian sonneteers were Dante Alighieri

The sonnet form was introduced in England by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547).

In Italy, England, and elsewhere between the 13th and early 16th Centuries, the most common theme of sonnets was love. Sonnets in later times also focused on religion, politics, and other concerns of the reading public.

TYPESSONNET

ShakespeareanPetrarchan

What are the lines about? Do they tell a story?Do they speak about feelings?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself, and curse my fate,

PETRARCHAN SHAKESPEAREAN

LYRIC

How many lines do these sonnets have?

PETRARCHANo When I consider how my light is spento Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,o And that one talent which is death to hideo Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bento To serve therewith my Maker, and presento My true account, lest he returning chide,o "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?“o I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevento That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not needo Either man's work or his own gifts: who besto Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His stateo Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speedo And post o'er land and ocean without rest:o They also serve who only stand and wait."

SHAKESPEAREANo Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?o Thou art more lovely and more temperate:o Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,o And summer's lease hath all too short a date:o Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shineso And often is his gold complexion dimmedo And every fair from fair sometime declineso By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed:o But thy eternal summer shall not fadeo Nor lose possession of that fair thou 1ow'sto Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shadeo When in eternal lines to time thou grow'sto So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,o So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

LYRIC 14 lines

How many syllables are there per line?Notice the stress pattern of the lines





When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself, and curse my fate,


LYRIC 14 lines10 syllables

How many syllables are there per line?What syllables have stress?U =unstressed; / =stressed

How do I love thee? Let me

count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and

breadth and height

When in disgrace with

fortune and men's eyes

I all alone beweep my

outcast state,


LYRIC 14 lines10 syllables

U / U / U / U

/ U /

U / U / U / U

/ U /

U / U / U

/ U / U /

U / U / U / U

/ U /

CHARACTERISTICSa lyric poemconsisting of fourteen lineswritten in iambic pentameter

An iamb is a metrical foot consisting ofan unaccented syllable U followed by an accented syllable / .

Pentameter means there are 5 iambs in the line

2 syllables x 5=10 syllables

PETRARCHAN

Sonnet XLIIElizabeth Barrett Browning





I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

•COUNT THE NUMBER OF LINES•IDENTIFY THE RHYME SCHEME

A

B

B

A

A

B

B

A

I love with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death

•COUNT THE NUMBER OF LINES•IDENTIFY THE RHYME SCHEME•HOW ARE THE LINES DIVIDED?

C

C

D

D

C

D

RHYME scheme

• Petrarchan (Italian) rhyme scheme:

• abba, abba, cd, cd, cd• abba, abba, cde, cde

Thought structure

• Octave/ sestet• The octave, eight lines,

presents a situation or idea.• The sestet (sextet), six

lines, responds, to the situation or idea in the octave.

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