english sonnet 1

• Sonnet


  A 14-line lyric poem with a single theme, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter
• Iambic pentameter


  A poetic meter with 10 beats per line made up of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables
• Meter


  The rhythmic structure of a poem
• Iamb


  A poetic foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
• Pentameter


  A line of verse consisting of five metrical feet
• Rhyme


  The repetition of similar sounds in two or more words, usually at the end of lines
• Rhyme scheme


  The pattern of rhymes in a poem
• Shakespearean sonnet


  A 14-line sonnet with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
• Sonnets


  • Fourteen lines
  • All sonnets have 14 lines, which can be broken down into four sections called quatrains
  • A strict rhyme scheme
  • Written in iambic pentameter
• Quatrain


  A four-line stanza
• Couplet


  Two consecutive lines of verse that rhyme
• Spenserian sonnet


  A variation on the English sonnet, with a rhyme scheme of ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
• Poetry often uses figurative language, or language that is not meant to be taken literally, to evoke emotions and express ideas in imaginative ways
• Simile


  A direct comparison of dissimilar things using the words like or as
• Metaphor


  A comparison in which one thing is identified with another dissimilar thing
• Personification


  Giving human qualities to nonhuman subjects
• The poets in this collection use various types of figurative language to express complex ideas about time, love, and human frailty
• Sonnet 12 reflects on time as a relentless force, love's endurance despite time's passage, and reflections on mortality and beauty
• Sonnet 60 reflects on time as fleeting and unstoppable, love's worth praised despite time's decay, and time's impact on youth and beauty
• Sonnet 73 reflects on time as a symbol of aging and mortality, love's strength in the face of mortality, and the comparison of life to the changing seasons
• Sonnet 12 uses imagery of a clock, day and night, violet, and trees
• Sonnet 60 uses imagery of waves, shore, eclipses, and youth's flourish
• Sonnet 73 uses imagery of yellow leaves, boughs, twilight, and fire
• Sonnet 12 has a reflective and contemplative tone
• Sonnet 60 has a meditative and philosophical tone
• Sonnet 73 has a reflective and melancholic tone
• "Hideous night" in Sonnet 12 refers to the darkness of nighttime
• "Sable curls" in Sonnet 12 refers to dark, black hair
• "Sheaves" in Sonnet 12 refers to bundles of harvested grain, symbolizing the end of summer and the passage of time
• In Sonnet 60, "naturality" is used to refer to the natural order of things
• "Transfix" in Sonnet 60 means to pierce
• "Crooked eclipses" in Sonnet 60 refers to disruptions or obstacles to one's glory or success
• "Bare ruin'd choirs" in Sonnet 73 describes the empty spaces where the birds used to sing, symbolizing the passage of time and decay
• "Twilight" in Sonnet 73 represents the fading light at the end of the day, symbolizing the approach of death
• "Death's second self" in Sonnet 73 refers to sleep, which is like a temporary form of death
• "Bier" in Sonnet 12 symbolizes death and the inevitability of mortality
• "Sequent" in Sonnet 60 means following or succeeding
• The "glowing fire" in Sonnet 73 symbolizes the fading vitality and energy of youth
• "Choirs" in Sonnet 73 refers to the branches of trees where birds used to sing, symbolizing the passage of time and the loss of vitality
• The metaphor of "parallels in beauty's brow" in Sonnet 60 suggests the wrinkles or lines that appear on one's face as they age, symbolizing the passage of time