Lesson video

Hi, welcome to today's English lesson.

This is lesson one in the series of lessons on Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare.

Today, we're going to look at the Shakespearean Sonnet and what that means in a sonnet form.

Before we make a start, let's make sure that you've got a pen and paper or something else to write with and on so that you can take notes throughout the lesson.

Also take a moment to make sure that any notifications or apps that are running in the background are turned off, so nothing will lose focus as you go through the lesson.

Take a second to do that now.

Okay, once we're ready to start, let's begin.

So, what do we already know about sonnets? A sonnet is a form of poetry originating in the 13th century.

It's a 14 line poem that usually has 10 syllables in a line.

The most well-known sonnet forms are the Petrarchan Sonnet and the Shakespearean Sonnet.

In our previous lessons on the sonnet, lots of this has already been covered.

If you feel you want to go back at any point and look through previous lessons in those series on the sonnets then feel free to do so.

Let's just check your understanding of the sonnets at this point.

In a second, I'm going to ask you to pause the video and copy out these three sentences filling in the missing words that have the first letter there.

Pause the video and complete those three sentences now.

Okay, hope that didn't trouble you too much.

Let's just check your answers then.

So sentence one, a sonnet has 14 lines of 10 syllables each.

Don't forget a syllable is that beat that we have within a word , syll-a-ble, three syllables within that.

Sentence two.

Sonnets originated in the 13th century.

They did indeed in the 13th century is where we first see the sonnet come about as a form.

And sentence three, two of the most well known sonnet writers were Petrarch and Shakespeare.

Indeed they were.

And today, we're going to be looking at Shakespeare and one of his most well-known sonnets, Sonnet 18.

And let's explore that sonnet together now.

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate; Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date, Sometime to hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance on nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Now we can see here, not only is it a beautiful poem, but it's got a very specific structure to it.

You've probably noticed we've indented some lines here.

And that goes to show something about the way that this poem is structured.

We start off here with 14 lines as all good sonnets have.

And as we mentioned at the start, a sonnet should contain 14 lines.

However, in the case of a Shakespearean Sonnet, it's not the entirely same structure throughout those 14 lines.

The first 12, as you can see here, follow one rhyme scheme, and then the last two lines follow a different rhyme scheme completely.

Those first 12 lines that we see follow a rhyme scheme referred to as ABAB.

That ABAB rhyme structure actually gives us three quadrants.

That means three groups of four lines.

So, line one, two, three, and four, follow the rhyme scheme, ABAB, as in the first line and third line rhyme and the second line and fourth line rhyme.

So, we see summer's day, buds of May, and temperate, short a date.

We then get the second quadrant, which is CDCD.

And again, we see shines, declines, dimm'd, untrimm'd.

And then in the third quadrant EFEF, which would be fade and shade, ow'st and grow'st.

Now for ease here, we've labelled this A B C D E F.

However, in the case of these three quadrants, it would simply be known as an ABAB rhyme scheme.

Of course, what we can see here is something a little different in those last two lines.

They rhyme together, see and thee rhyme, and those two lines are next to each other.

This is called a rhyming couplet or a romantic couplet, and all Shakespearean Sonnets have those 12 lines of ABAB initially, and then end with a romantic couplet.

Often we see this as the coming together or the culmination of the sonnet as a whole.

Let's just check how we understood this sonnet structure at this point then.

So in a second, I'd like you to pause the video and answer the question.

What rhyme scheme does a Shakespearean Sonnet follow, with one of the following options? Is it option one, Shakespearean has no rhyme scheme? Option two, it uses heroic couplets throughout.

Is it option three? It uses an ABAB rhyme scheme with a romantic couplet at the end, or is it option four? It uses an ABAB rhyme scheme throughout.

Pause the video now and make your choice.

Okay, hopefully you've got that one this time.

That's just check on your answer.

It is of course option three, a Shakespearean Sonnet uses an ABAB rhyme scheme with a romantic couplet at the end.

So, it has three quadrants of ABAB, and then a final romantic couplet to end the 14 lines.

Well done if you've got that right, if you're not 100% sure, then feel free to go back in your learning and just double check your understanding of that.

Now, once we've understood the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean Sonnet, the next thing to focus on is poetic metre.

Poetic metre, some new language here.

In poetry metre is the basic rhythm and structure of a verse or lines in verse.

The metre refers to the number of syllables in a line and the flow or the beat that those syllables make when read.

Now we should have already encountered the word syllables before.

Syllables are the beats that we have in each particular word.

So if we were, for example, to take the word syllable itself, it has syll-a-ble, that's three beats or three syllables within that word.

The easiest way to think about this is to think about your own name.

Mine in this case, my surname is Posthill.

So that's post-hill, two beats, two syllables.

Why not try doing that with your own name to make sure you understand the concept of syllables.

As we said here, the idea of metre is how many of those syllables or beats there are in each line.

Iambic Pentameter.

Most sonnets are written in the poetic metre known as Iambic Pentameter.

Iambic Pentameter.

This comes from Iamb and Pentameter.

Iams are a pair of syllables.

I, am, two syllables in this case.

or syll-a-ble, being that three, but the two paired syllables I, am, is the key here.

Pentameter, you may be familiar with that word pent, as in pentagon, means five.

And that's five lots of pairs of each of these Iams in a line.

So, there are five Iams in each line of Iambic Pentameter, which means that there are five pairs of syllables or 10 syllables in total.

Iambic Pentameter is when a poet uses five pairs of syllables called Iams in each line.

Iambic Pentameter can be seen in Shakespearean Sonnets.

You may have already encountered Iambic Pentameter used in Chaucer's the Canterbury tales if you learned about that earlier.

If you want to take a moment now to copy down any of these meanings for Iambic Pentameter, then please do feel free to do so.

Let's take a closer look at Iambic Pentameter in action within our poem.

Shall I compare thee two a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling bugs of May and summer's lease hath all too short a date.

Now here, you can see that we've used backslashes to carve up the pairs of syllables.

So, we have in our first line, shall I compare thee to a summer's day, that famous line.

We have shall I, compare, thee to, a sum, mer's day? We have five individual pairs of syllables, as you can see.

Similarly, on the next line, thou art, more love, ly and, more tem, perate.

Rough winds, do shake, the darl, ing buds, of May, and sum, mer's lease, hath all, too short, a date.

We get these pairs.

Take a moment now to beat through this lines yourself while clapping.

Let's do this together, shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.

And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

And you can hear that beat over and over again in each of those lines.

That's five paired syllables or Iams, Iambic Pentameter.

We see here in our top line syllable one, syllable two.

Then the second Iam, syllable one, syllable two, one two, one two, one two, one two, one two.

That's 10 syllables in total or five Iams. We get the same thing in the next line.

Thou art, more love, ly and, more tem, perate.

10 syllables, five Iams. Just labelling the Iams there, then the paired syllables.

As you can see, there are five, rough winds, do shake, the darl, ing buds, of May, and the same in the last line.

And sum, mer's lease, hath all, too short, a date.

Hopefully you've understood that now.

As on the next slide, you're going to have a go at labelling those Iams and those syllables yourself.

In a second, I'm going to ask you to pause the video on the next slide.

So in a moment, I'm going to ask you to pause the video and copy out the next two lines from Sonnet 18.

Sometime to hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimm'd.

What I'd like you to do is two things.

Firstly, I'd like you to add a backslash between each of the Iams. So, that's five Iams in each line.

So, you should be adding four backslashes here.

I then want you underneath the line, to label them one two, one two, one two, one two, one two, for each of the paired syllables.

So, you should have five ones and five twos for each line.

Pause the video now and have a go at this activity.

Okay, let's see how you got on there.

So, we should have something that looks like this.

One two, one two, one two, one two, one two, sometime, too hot, the eye, of hea, ven shines, and you should have those backslashes indicating the Iams in the same places.

Similarly for the second line, and of, ten is, his gold, complex, ion dimm'd, one two, one two, one two, one two, one two.

And those backslashes indicating the Iams in the same places.

Really well done if you've managed to get that one.

Again, as always, if you're not quite sure about it yet, feel free to go back in our learning and make sure that you double check and review your learning this far.

Let's just check that we've all understood that then at this point.

So in a second, you're going to pause the video and you're going to decide which of the following four statements are true, and which of the following four statements are false.

So A, a Shakespearean Sonnet has 14 lines.

Is that true, or is that false? B, a Shakespearean Sonnet uses rhyming couplets throughout.

True or false? C, a Shakespearean Sonnet is written in free verse with a chaotic metre, true or false? And D, a Shakespearean Sonnet is written in Iambic Pentameter, true or false? Pause the video now and make your decision.

Do feel free to write a T or a F to indicate which you think it is.

Okay, let's see how you got on with that one then.

So, statement A there, a Shakespearean Sonnet has 14 lines, it does indeed.

Like all sonnets, 14 lines is the aim of the game for a Shakespearean Sonnet.

Sentence B then, a Shakespearean Sonnet uses rhyming couplets throughout.

No, it does not.

We know the rhyming couplet is just there right at the end, those last two lines.

C, a Shakespearean Sonnet is written in free verse with a chaotic metre.

No, that is certainly false.

A Shakespearean Sonnet follows a very closed structure and has very, very structured metre throughout.

And as we can see in sentence D, a Shakespearean Sonnet is written in Iambic Pentameter.

This is true.

That is indeed the very structured metre that a Shakespearean Sonnet follows.

Well done if you've got those correct, if not back, reverse your learning and have a little look back through what you've learned in previous sessions.

So, now that we've refreshed our understanding of Shakespeare's sonnets, let's take a moment to think about the man himself.

William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet and playwright.

He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and lived mainly in London between 1564 and 1616.

In his lifetime Shakespeare wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets that we know of.

But there may be many, many more that have lain hidden, or have been lost over the years.

Shakespeare's sonnets focus on the theme of love.

The first 126 sonnets seem to be written to a young man who is the object of the speaker's desire.

The last 28 sonnets are addressed to an older woman, referred to as the dark lady who causes both love and hatred in the speaker.

So, opportunity to check your learning now, true or false round.

There are four sentences here.

You need to decide whether they're true or false.

Sentences A, Shakespeare lived in the 15th and 16th century.

Sentence B, Shakespeare was a famous poet and playwright.

Statement C, Shakespeare wrote sonnets addressed to both a young man and a dark lady.

And statement D, Shakespeare wrote only 38 sonnets in his 52 year life.

Take a moment now to pause the video, feel free to write a T or a F depending on your answer, and have a go at this now.

Okay, let's see how you got on with this one then.

So, sentence A, Shakespeare lived in the 15th and 16th century.

No, this is false.

Although Shakespeare did live in the 1500s and 1600s, this as we know is a further 100 years on.

So, it's called the 16th and 17th century.

Now lots of people make this common mistake, but we've got to bear in mind that the years zero to 99 was called the first century and then 100 to 199, the second century and so on.

So, we're always one ahead as we thought, talk about this.

So, if we're talking about the 1500s, it's the 16th century and the 1600s is the 17th century and so on and so forth.

Sentence B then, Shakespeare was a famous poet and playwright.

It is indeed true.

He was one of the most famous playwrights and poets, both at the time as an incredibly popular and renowned playwright.

But now known as probably the most famous poet and playwright of all time.

Sentence C, Shakespeare wrote sonnets addressed to both a young man and a dark lady.

This again is true.

He wrote a significant number of his initial sonnets to a young man, or at least the speaker was writing to a young man.

And the last section of them were all written to an older dark lady who he felt both love and hatred for at the same time.

Finally sentence D, Shakespeare wrote only 38 sonnets in his 52 year life.

This is certainly not true.

He wrote 38 plays, which is quite a feat for anyone, but it was a significant number more sonnets than that.

Though it is true that he lived for just 52 years, which seems like a very short lifespan nowadays, though actually in the 16th and 17th century, 52 wasn't too bad of an age to have managed to make it to.

Hopefully you didn't struggle too much with those ones, as always, if you did, feel free to go back and look back at Shakespeare's biography and see if you can review your learning there.

Okay, so we've reached our main activity for the lesson today, and this one's going to challenge you and work on all the learning that you've done so far on the Shakespearean Sonnet.

In a moment, go to the next slide and pause the video and complete the activity you see there.

So in a moment, you're going to pause the video.

And what I'm going to ask you to do is to circle which of the elements you see below are aspects of a Shakespearean Sonnet.

So there are 10 aspects written down here.

Iambic Quatrameter, has 12 lines, theme of love, AABB rhyme scheme, Iambic Pentameter, theme of death, Iambic Tetrameter, ABAB rhyme scheme, has 14 lines, and ends with a rhyming couplet.

Five of these 10 are elements of a Shakespearean Sonnet.

The other five are not.

What I'd like you to do is to pause the video and circle the ones that are part of a Shakespearean Sonnet.

If you cannot download the downloadable material or print out the worksheet, then feel free just to write out the five that you think are aspects of a Shakespearean Sonnet.

Pause the video now and do your best.

Okay, let's see how you got on there then.

So, the five elements that are parts of a Shakespearean Sonnet, are the theme of love.

We see the theme of love throughout Shakespeare's sonnets, whether that is to be young man or indeed to his dark lady.

All of the sonnets do feature the theme of love.

Iambic Pentameter is also an aspect of a Shakespearean Sonnet.

That heartbeat-esque rhythm and metre that we see is throughout Shakespearean Sonnets.

An ABAB rhyme scheme.

We see that in the first 12 lines or the first three quadrants of all Shakespearean Sonnets.

Has 14 lines, indeed, that is an aspect of all sonnets.

So, it's certain a Shakespearean Sonnet has 14 lines.

And then finally it ends with a rhyming couplet, and that, as we know, a romantic couplet is how Shakespeare always ends his sonnets.

Some of the other things that you see there are certainly not true.

So, a sonnet doesn't have 12 lines for example.

Some sonnets do cover the theme of death, but not Shakespeare's sonnets.

They tend to be covering the theme of love.

And a AABB rhyme scheme again does appear in some sonnets, but not a Shakespearean one.

And we certainly have Iambic Quatrameter and Iambic Tetrameter seen in other poetic work elsewhere, but very rarely in a Shakespeare Sonnet.

If you got those five key elements correct, then a huge congratulations you've done ever so well, but as always, if you're not quite sure, and you want to go back in the video and recheck your learning, then please feel free to do so.

Okay, so that's brought us to the end of our video and to the end of our lesson one on Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare.

Today, we've learned a lot about the Shakespearean Sonnet and a little bit about the background and structure of that and an awful lot about William Shakespeare and his biography.

What I'd like to do in a moment when the video finishes is to go do a couple of things to make sure you review your learning properly.

Firstly, I'd like you to look through your notes and pick a new piece of vocabulary that you've learned today.

That might be something to do with metre, or Iambic Pentameter, but I want you to go back through that vocabulary and make sure you understand it properly.

The second thing I'd like you to do is to review the key learning from today's lessons.

Now, you might want to number the key points that you've learned during today's lesson, or you might want to think about what those key elements are and write a definition.

Now whether that is about poetic metre and what poetic metre is, what Iambic Pentameter is, what are the key aspects of Shakespeare's life, or indeed what are the key aspects that we would expect to see in a Shakespearean Sonnet? All of these things are incredibly important and you no doubt have them in your notes, but it will be really useful to go back through and just put them in a different format to help you to remember and review your learning.

The final thing I'd like you to make sure that you do is to make sure you complete the exercises, particularly that final activity, where you establish which are the key aspects of a Shakespeare Sonnet.

Make sure you do those activities, whether it's on the downloadable resource, or on the printable worksheets, and make sure that you're doing those to review your learning to the best.

Before we leave you then, once again, a huge well done for all your efforts today.

And I'll look forward to seeing you in lesson two.