PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Shakespearean Sonnet
A 14 line sonnet that rhymes in a particular pattern (eg. Abab) with a concluding sentence.
Uses an iambic pentameter (an iamb is a "foot" consisting of 2 syllables, 1 unaccented and 1 accented)
It has 10 syllables per line
Eg. when I / con SID / er HOW / my LIFE / is SPENT
that TIME / of YEAR / thou MAYST / in ME / be HOLD
Difficult to write because of the strict structure of the poem.
Time consuming and complex, these poems have a lot of thought put in.
Must rhyme and maintain the right number of syllables in each line and emphasis on certain syllables.
Lo! in the orient when the gracious light
Lifts up his burning head, each under eye
Doth homage to his new-appearing sight,
Serving with looks his sacred majesty;
And having climbed the steep-up heavenly hill,
Resembling strong youth in his middle age,
Yet mortal looks adore his beauty still,
Attending on his golden pilgrimage:
The Shakespearean Sonnets show the rhyming couplets (two rhyming lines eg abab) and have the correct structure for a Shakespearean sonnet. They also show the complexity in the rhyming couplets and in the rhythmic pattern which it follows.
