What is a Sonnet?

1. What is a Sonnet? Understanding the forms, meter, rhyme, and other aspects of the sonnet.

2. Sonnet Form • A sonnet has 14 lines. • A sonnet must be written in iambic pentameter • A sonnet must follow a specific rhyme scheme, depending on the type of sonnet. • A sonnet can be about any subject, though they are often about love or nature. • A sonnet introduces a problem or question in the beginning, and a resolution is offered after the turn.

3. Iambic Pentameter • 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).

4. English Sonnet • An English Sonnet is also called a Shakespearean Sonnet. • It includes three quatrains (groups of four lines) and a couplet (two lines). • The rhyme scheme is often abab cdcd efef gg. • The turn is either after eight lines or ten lines.

5. Italian Sonnet • An Italian Sonnet is also called a Petrarchan Sonnet. • It includes an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). • The rhyme scheme must begin with abbaabba, and can conclude with any variation of c, d, and e (cdecde, cdcdee, etc.). • The turn must occur between the octave and the sestet.

6. What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”? • 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? Write these questions on your paper and answer them when the sonnet is shown.

7. “What the Sonnet is” Fourteen small broidered berries on the hem Of Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold; Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolled Into the sea, for pearls to come of them; Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gem With 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 brought To Beatrice; the sapphire Laura wore When Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought; The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core; The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wrought For his own soul, to wear for evermore. ~Eugene Lee-Hamilton

8. What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”? Lines are in an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). Fourteen small broidered berries on the hem Of Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold; Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolled Into the sea, for pearls to come of them; Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gem With 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 brought To Beatrice; the sapphire Laura wore When Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought; The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core; The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wrought For his own soul, to wear for evermore.

9. What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”? • Rhyme scheme is abbaabba cdcdcd. Fourteen small broidered berries on the hem Of Circe’s mantle, each of magic gold; Fourteen of lone Calypso’s tears that rolled Into the sea, for pearls to come of them; Fourteen clear signs of omen in the gem With 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 brought To Beatrice; the sapphire Laura wore When Petrarch cut it sparkling out of thought; The ruby Shakespeare hewed from his heart’s core; The dark, deep emerald that Rossetti wrought For his own soul, to wear for evermore.

10. What type of sonnet is “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.

11. What type of sonnet is “What the Sonnet Is”? “What the Sonnet Is” is an Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet!

12. Limmericks • What is a Limmerick?

13. They are five lines long. • Lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme with one another. • Lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other. • They have a distinctive rhythm • They are usually funny.

14. The rhyme scheme of a limerick is known as “AABBA.” This is because the last words in lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme. Those are the “A’s” in the rhyme scheme. The “B’s” are the last words of lines 3 and 4. Let me give you an example:

15. There was a young fellow named HallWho fell in the spring in the fall.‘Twould have been a sad thingHad he died in the spring,But he didn’t—he died in the fall. – Anonymous

16. Now let’s take a look at the rhythm of the limerick. It goes by the complicated name “anapaestic,” but you don’t need to worry about that. What I want you to notice when you read or recite a limerick is that the first two lines and the last line have three “beats” in them, while the third and fourth lines have two “beats.” In other words, the rhythm of a limerick looks like this:

17. da DUM da da DUM da da DUMda DUM da da DUM da da DUMda DUM da da DUMda DUM da da DUMda DUM da da DUM da da DUM

18. there WAS a young FELLow named HALLwho FELL in the SPRING in the FALL.‘twould have BEEN a sad THINGhad he DIED in the SPRING,but he DIDn’t—he DIED in the FALL.

19. There was an old man of NantucketWho kept all his cash in a bucket;But his daughter, named Nan,Ran away with a man,And as for the bucket, Nantucket. – Anonymous

20. SOME LIMERICK TRICKS • There are two more things that you will notice when you read limericks: • The first line usually ends with a person’s first name or the name of a place. • The last line is usually funny. • Because the first line is usually the name of a person or place, writing the first line is the easiest part. You simply pick the name of a place or person – like “New York” or “Dave” – and write a line

21. Acrostic Poems • Spell out a word with the first letters of each line. • Great thing to use for your poem about yourself.

22. William • Worthy, your friendship is a gift • Illustrious, bright and accomplished • Lively, the life of the party • Light-hearted, you have an easy laughter • Inspirational, the ability to motivate • Approachable, people turn to you for help • Merry, abundant joy

23. Elizabeth by E. A. Poe Elizabeth it is in vain you say "Love not" — thou sayest it in so sweet a way: In vain those words from thee or L. E. L. Zantippe's talents had enforced so well: Ah! if that language from thy heart arise, Breathe it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes. Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried To cure his love — was cured of all beside — His folly — pride — and passion — for he died.

24. Haiku • A haiku is an unrhymed three-line poem. It is based on a traditional Japanese poetic form. Though there are different ways to write haiku, the traditional pattern in English is to write the first and last lines with five syllables each, and the middle line with seven syllables. In other words, the pattern of syllables looks like this:

25. Line 1: 5 syllablesLine 2: 7 syllablesLine 3: 5 syllables

26. One more thing to keep in mind is that the last line of a haiku usually makes an observation. That is, the third line points out something about the subject you are writing about.

27. Winter is coming.Snow will be arriving soon.We should rake the leaves

28. My homework is late.My dog ate it this morning.I sure like my dog.

29. To begin writing haiku poems, just follow these steps: • Select a type of haiku. Decide if you are going to write a seasonal, nature, or other type of haiku. • Pick a topic. Select one specific season, item in nature, or something else you are going to write about. • Think about what is different about your last line. What observation do you want to make? • Start writing. • Don’t forget to count the syllables as you read to make sure you’ve got the right pattern.