Poetry Friday- Sonnets
Today, we will look at one of the most classic forms of poetry: the sonnet. First, note the rhyme scheme, meter, and any poetic devices used in the two sonnet examples below. After completing this activity, participate in the class discussion concerning how sound and meaning work together to produce the experience of the reader.
Finally, use the resource below to find a sonnet of your own choosing. On a separate sheet, copy the sonnet onto a document and discuss meaning, sound, poetic devices, etc. in a one-page, double-spaced, typed response.
http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun (Sonnet 130)by William Shakespeare
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
by William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!