POETRY PROJECT: WRITING A SONNET Objectives: • To select a theme for your poem • To compose the sonnet following the correct rhyme scheme and keeping with your theme • To write primarily in iambic pentameter 1. Choose a subject for your sonnet. Some likely subjects are friendship, growing up, animals, or a sport or hobby important to you. 2. Decide upon a theme or message on your general subject that you wish to communicate in your poem. 3. Plan your structure. The problem-then-solution structure is one possibility, or plan your content flow in another logical manner (see “Elizabethan Sonnets” worksheet). 4. Write the sonnet with care to respect the required rhyme scheme for your fourteen lines. Keep in iambic pentameter as much as possible. Even if you don’t have a pure string of iambs, keep a strict ten syllables per line. Two useful websites to help with your rhyming are http://www.rhymezone.com/ and http://www.poetry4kids.com/rhymes 5. Decide on a title for your sonnet. It could hint at the subject or be a statement of your theme. 6. Your poem may have a clever twist, particularly in the ending, but keep your tone and treatment of your subject serious. Light satire is appropriate; farce is not. 7. Format: Type or write neatly in pen, mount on a piece of plain paper. Decorate with a drawing, graphic or border. Due dates: First draft due Final project: Look back at the prompt and fill out this RAFTS chart. R A F T S

Name _____________________________________________ GRADING CRITERIA Poem has fourteen lines

________/14

Rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg

________/7

Each line has ten syllables

________/14

Meter is exclusively or primarily iambic pentameter

________/10

Rhymes are natural and don’t dictate meaning

________/3

Structure of content is logical and flows; subject is appropriately treated

________/6

Title is interesting, on subject or theme

________/2

Presentation is attractive, neat, appropriately decorated

________/4

CUPS

________/5

Grading sheet is enclosed

________/1

Organizer, rough draft showing revisions and peer edit sheet are attached

________/4

TOTAL

_______/70 pts

A SONNET BUILDING LESSON 1. Use your Sonnet Plan sheet to brainstorm topic ideas and to fit them into the required four stanza structure (three quatrains and a couplet.) Think about which of the recommended organizational structures you plan to use. 2. Once you have your plan, begin trying to write some lines that follow the sense of your plan. Try for 10 syllable lines and iambic pentameter, but at this point don’t worry if your lines aren’t perfect—meaning is more important! 3. Next you need to revise to get the required line length and meter. You must be very strict about the 10 syllable limit per line. Remember that iambic pentameter is a rhythm that goes daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM. Two or more syllable words need to fall so that the word’s natural stress matches the meter. For one- syllable words, connector words (prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc.) are generally unstressed, and nouns and verbs are usually stressed. 4. Use rhyming websites (http://www.rhymezone.com/ or http://www.poetry4kids.com/rhymes) to help you make the rhymes work. Never allow your rhyme to dictate the meaning! 5. Special tricks. a. Many words in English can have a varying number of syllables, depending what you need. You can use the apostrophe to leave out a syllable if needed, such as three syllable “every” becomes “ev’ry.” Sometimes an apostrophe is not even needed. For example, “chocolate” is most often pronounced “chok-lit” but may be used as “chok-a-lit” if needed in a line. b. Articles (the, a, an) can very often be left out to save a syllable. c. To save a syllable you can contract “is” or “are” onto many subjects. For example, “they’re” instead of “they are” or “Spring’s” instead of “Spring is.” d. You can poetically switch the usual order of the sentence to put the verb at the end. This often makes the meter work better since the verb is almost always stressed. It can also help in finding rhyme. For example: “ To school he comes” instead of “He comes to school.”

A SONNET BUILDING LESSON 1. Use your Sonnet Plan sheet to brainstorm topic ideas and to fit them into the required four stanza structure (three quatrains and a couplet.) Think about which of the recommended organizational structures you plan to use. 2. Once you have your plan, begin trying to write some lines that follow the sense of your plan. Try for 10 syllable lines and iambic pentameter, but at this point don’t worry if your lines aren’t perfect—meaning is more important! 3. Next you need to revise to get the required line length and meter. You must be very strict about the 10 syllable limit per line. Remember that iambic pentameter is a rhythm that goes daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM. Two or more syllable words need to fall so that the word’s natural stress matches the meter. For one -syllable words, connector words (prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc.) are generally unstressed, and nouns and verbs are usually stressed. 4. Use rhyming websites (http://www.rhymezone.com/ or http://www.poetry4kids.com/rhymes) to help you make the rhymes work. Never allow your rhyme to dictate the meaning! 5. Special tricks. a. Many words in English can have a varying number of syllables, depending what you need. You can use the apostrophe to leave out a syllable if needed, such as three syllable “every” becomes “ev’ry.” Sometimes an apostrophe is not even needed. For example, “chocolate” is most often pronounced “chok-lit” but may be used as “chok-a-lit” if needed in a line. b. Articles (the, a, an) can very often be left out to save a syllable. c. To save a syllable you can contract “is” or “are” onto many subjects. For example, “they’re” instead of “they are” or “Spring’s” instead of “Spring is.” d. You can poetically switch the usual order of the sentence to put the verb at the end. This often makes the meter work better since the verb is almost always stressed. It can also help in finding rhyme. For example: “ To school he comes” instead of “He comes to school.”

Name ___________________________________ Date ___________________ Block ______ SONNET PLAN WORKSHEET My theme or personal message will be _______________________________________________ My stanzas will contain this: Q1. _________________________________________________________________________ Q2. _________________________________________________________________________ Q3. _________________________________________________________________________ Coup _______________________________________________________________________

Name ___________________________________ Date ___________________ Block ______ SONNET PLAN WORKSHEET My theme or personal message will be _______________________________________________ My stanzas will contain this: Q1. _________________________________________________________________________ Q2. _________________________________________________________________________ Q3. _________________________________________________________________________ Coup _______________________________________________________________________

Poet’s Name _____________________________ Editor’s Name __________________________ Sonnet Peer Edit Sheet Using an editing pen or pencil, mark up the following: 1. Count the number of syllables in each line and write the number to the left of the line. 2. Circle any words that violate the iambic pentameter rhythm of the line. 3. Check that the sonnet has the correct rhyme scheme and make notes if there are any errors. Q1, Q2__________________________________________________________________________ Q3, Coup_________________________________________________________________________ 4. Theme: Write the sonnet’s theme __________________________________________________ Does it stick to the message? y/n

Comments __________________________________________

5. Structure: Does the poem flow? y/n

Does it have a title? y/n

Comments: ______________________________________________________________________

Poet’s Name _____________________________ Editor’s Name __________________________ Sonnet Peer Edit Sheet Using an editing pen or pencil, mark up the following: 1. Count the number of syllables in each line and write the number to the left of the line. 2. Circle any words that violate the iambic pentameter rhythm of the line. 3. Check that the sonnet has the correct rhyme scheme and make notes if there are any errors. Q1, Q2__________________________________________________________________________ Q3, Coup_________________________________________________________________________ 4. Theme: Write the sonnet’s theme __________________________________________________ Does it stick to the message? y/n

Comments __________________________________________

5. Structure: Does the poem flow? y/n

Does it have a title? y/n

Comments: ______________________________________________________________________

Sample written by an 8th grader (2005): The Oddities of English By: Michelle Patschke

To clarify is clearing up the point, But “clear” can mean a multitude of things. It sometimes needs an exclamation point, And other times will have a pleasant ring. The “k” and “e” in “knife” are never heard, That doesn’t mean that they aren’t really there. Which makes it rather hard to spell the word, So when you spell it simply be aware. A single moose is always called a moose, So what to call a group of more than one? Some geese is always plural for a goose, But “meece” just didn’t win in the long run. So understanding English can be hard, The oddities can throw you off your guard.

Name ____________________________________ POEM PROJECT CHOICE #2: FREE VERSE [NOTE: If you choose this poetry project, you must also complete a 25 point in-class analysis of a Shakespearean poem.] Objectives: • To write a free verse poem on your chosen topic • To practice use of figurative language In this assignment, you will write a free verse poem of 14 or more lines. Remember that free verse poetry does not have to rhyme nor maintain any given meter. Follow these steps: 1. Choose a topic about which to write your poem. Some possibilities are: a current or past event, a personal observation, a memory, a personal experience, an activity that you enjoy, or a family member or yourself. 2. Decide on your structure, whether chronological, or a logical division based on aspects of your subject, or based on presentation of a problem and solution, etc. 3. Write the poem. Capitalize the first letter of each new line. Use of punctuation, decisions about where to begin new lines, and the poetic beauty of your language are all part of the poet’s skill. 4. Include at least two different types of figurative language in your poem. Choose from among simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, oxymoron, pun, hyperbole, paradox and alliteration. 5. Presentation: type your poem or write it neatly on a piece of unlined paper. Include a graphic, sketch, photo, border, or other decoration appropriate to your topic. 6. Give your poem an appropriate title. Due date for rough draft: Thursday, January 8 Due date for final: Monday, January 12 GRADING CRITERIA Fourteen lines of poetry (or more)

______/14

Verse format, with each line capitalized, reasonable punctuation breaks

______/5

Logical structure

______/5

Two examples of figurative language (such as metaphor, simile)

______/8

Appropriate title

______/3

Attractive presentation, neat with graphic or border

______/5

CUPS

______/4

Project sheet included

______/1 TOTAL

______/45 pts

SHAKESPEAREAN POETRY PROJECT Name ______________________________ Read the poem and answer each question below in complete sentences. (5 points each)

73 That time of year thou mayst in me behold

1

______

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

2

______

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

3

______

Bare ruined choirs* where late the sweet birds sang.

4

______

In me thou see’st the twilight of such day

5

______

As after sunset fadeth in the west,

6

______

Which by and by black night doth take away,

7

______

Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.

8

______

In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,

9

______

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie

10

______

As the deathbed whereon it must expire,

11

______

Consumed with that which it was nourished by.

12

______

This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,

13

______

To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

14

______

*choirs: part of a church

1. Fill in the rhyme scheme on the lines by each line number above. 2. Mark the meter and put vertical lines between feet in lines 1, 2, 3, 6 and 14. 3. What is the name of the meter in the lines you marked in #2? 4. What do you call this type of poem? What is the name for the final two lines in this poem? 5. Cite some words from the poem that give you the hint as to what “time of year” is referred to in the opening line. What month do you imagine he’s talking about?

6. The poet compares this time of year to something to do with himself. What is the central comparison he is making?

7. What is the poet’s message to the person he’s writing his poem to in his final two lines?

Elizabethan Sonnets During the Elizabethan Age, an educated person was expected to write poetry and to be able to recite from memory the classical poems of Greece and Rome. A favorite type of poem written in English was the sonnet. Shakespeare did not invent the sonnet; Petrarch, a fourteenth century poet did, but Shakespeare has been associated with it for a long time because of the 154 sonnets he wrote. These are considered some of the English-speaking world’s most beautiful lines. When the term Elizabethan sonnet is used, it refers to sonnets constructed like those Shakespeare wrote. Most sonnets consisted of single, fourteen-line poems, but sometimes Elizabethan poets would write whole narratives in sonnet form. Like many types of poetry, a sonnet follows a set of rules. The rules for the structure of an Elizabethan or Shakespearean sonnet are as follows: •

There are 14 lines altogether. o There are three sets of four lines, called quatrains. o There are two lines at the end called a couplet.

•

Each line contains ten syllables with every other syllable accented beginning with the second syllable. This meter is called iambic pentameter.

•

The sonnet has this formal rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg

•

The sonnet also has a thematic structure. o One option is that the first two quatrains set up a problem, the third quatrain begins to answer the problem, and the ending couplet solves the problem. The couplet can be considered a sort of punch line. o Alternatively, the poet introduces his topic in the first quatrain and covers two or three aspects of the topic in the quatrains. He wraps up his discussion in the couplet. o The poet can introduce a topic in the first quatrain, present two opposite views in the second and third quatrain (ie set up an antithesis), and choose between them in the couplet. o Finally the poet can put events in chronological order with a finale.