Chapter 15

Prompt

• These poems are not only sonnets but also commentaries on sonnets & certain conventions, such as Petrarchan “conceits” (Shakespeare’s {My mistresses’ eyes…]”) or the relation between the male or female speaker's love object. What does each ultimately suggest about the sonnet through both its forms and its content?

Poems to Focus On

• William Shakespeare’s [My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun] p.647
• Henry Constable’s [My lady’s presence makes the roses red] p.646

Vocab

• belied- fail to give a true notion or impression of something.
• demask- a figured woven fabric with a pattern visible on both sides

Sonnet?

• Used to intensify emotion or feeling-traditionally used to express love using figurative language
• 14 lines, iambic pentameter.
• Structured by rhyme scheme and rythym.

Sonnet?

• Type 1: English/Shakespearean style
• Shakespeare's “My mistresses’ eyes…”
• 4-4-4-2 style: 3 cumulative images and and a ironic turning point.

Sonnet?

• Type 2: Italian
• 8-6 structure in order to intensify feeling.
• Henry Constable's "My lady’s presence..."
• First 8 lines, octave, used as a generalization or or preposition.
• Last 6 lines, or a sestet, is used as an image or application of what was generalized in the foctave.

Tone- Shakespeare

• "Coral is far more red than her lips’ red”
• patronizing & disrespectful tone

Tone- Constable

• Abundant love
• "The lily's leaves, for envy, pale became"
• respectful & loving tone

The Petrarchan Conceit

• Comparisons of the lovers to objects, like nature, made by each of the speakers are fluid through the sonnets
• The speaker in “My mistresses’ eyes…” insults his lover with harsh comparisons like
• The speaker in "My lady’s presence..." showers her with complimentary comparisons

Petrarchan Conceit

• However, both speakers are most definitely in love
• There's two ways to apply a petrarchan conceit, shown in these two examples

What Do the Sonnets Suggest?

• The form of a sonnet is flexible
• The only requirements for a sonnets form: 14 Lines, iambic pentameter

What Do the Sonnets Suggest?

• The content of sonnets revolve around strong emotions
• The speaker elaborates on a subject with hyperbole

Works Cited

• Mays, Kelly J., Bryan Crockett, and Gayla McGlamery. The Norton Introduction to Literature. N.p.: n.p., 1998. Print.