Sonnet Basics + Historyđź—Ł
Sonnet 18
Compare the beloved’s beauty to a summer's day.
From the impermanence of summer to eternal beauty through the poem.
Structure is Shakespearean (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
Sonnet 29
Despair over misfortune, then joy from love.
From self-pity to positive thoughts of the beloved.
Structure is Shakespearean (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
Sonnet 116
True love is constant and unchanging.
From description of love to a final assertion of its truth.
Structure is Shakespearean (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
Sonnet 130
Love despite the mistress’ imperfections.
From physical flaws to true, genuine love.
Structure is Shakespearean (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
Sonnet 30
Grief over losses, but finding comfort in love.
From sorrow to solace through thoughts of the beloved.
Structure is Shakespearean (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
Sonnet 75
Writing love on the shore, but poetry preserves it forever.
From the fleeting nature of the shore to the permanence of poetry.
Structure is Spenserian (ABAB BCBC CDCD EE)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
Holy Sonnet 10
Challenges Death’s power and mocks its pride.
From fearing Death to asserting its lack of power.
Structure is Italian (ABBA ABBA CDCD CD)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
“To His Coy Mistress”
Urges a mistress to seize the moment and embrace love.
From idealizing endless love to emphasizing the urgency of time.
Structure is Metaphysical (AABBCCDD - couplets)
Iambic Tetrameter
46 Lines
“On My First Son”
Lamenting (mourning) the death of his son.
From grief to reflection on the release from suffering.
Structure is Elegy (AABBA)
Iambic Pentameter
14 Lines
The Renaissance (1485-1660)
Key Characteristics
Renaissance was known as a “rebirth”.
Best characteristic: As people became interested in the writing of ancient Greece and Rome they became more inquisitive and creative.
The Coming of the Renaissance
Flowering of literacy, artistic, and intellectual development.
Renaissance Person
“Renaissance man” (or woman) = well-rounded person
Cultural Influences
The Role of the Church
The Middle Ages and early Renaissance has a Roman Catholic majority
The Intellectual Response: Humanism
Humanism: combined the wisdom of the classics with that of the bible.
The Declining Role of the Church
Martin Luther tries to reform (but ultimately divides) the Church--- leads to Protestantism.
The Tudors
Henry VII - Came to power after War of the Roses.
Henry VIII - “A Renaissance Man” (literary, musical, athletic, and scholarly)
The Rise of the Stuarts
General Oliver Cromwell - Defeated the Royalists and Parliament established a commonwealth… no king
Shakespeare & Sonnets
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays of tragedies, comedies and histories as well as an innovative collection of 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems.
Main Topic: A focus on personal feelings and thoughts that are lyrical in nature.
Always a “turn”: Volta.
Lines: 14 line lyric poem.
Meter: Iambic Pentameter… 10 syllables per line usually.
Structure and rhyme scheme: A strict pattern; the 3 most common known as petrarchan, shakespearean, and spenserian.
Sonnet Form - Petrarchan (Italian Sonnet Form)
The octave (first 8 lines) abbaabba (establishes the speaker's situation)
The sestet (last 6 lines)
Cdcdcd or cdecde (resolves/draws conclusions)