SONNET FORM IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Transcription

1 SONNET FORM IN ENGLISH LITERATURE CLASS 10 th 1

2 Petrarch in the 14 th century, created the Italian Sonnet form. - is a poetic form of exactly fourteen lines - it had an eight line of an octave with a fixed rhythm scheme abba, abba. ( 4+4) Plus six line sestet as cde, cde. (3+3) Variation in grouping of lines was allowed only in the sestet. 3+3, 4+2 or What is a Sonnet and its Classical form? Literature of European languages, other than English, recognize only this Sonnet form. In English, John Milton was its chief exponent. Miltonic Sonnet in English = the classical sonnet form. 2

3 Sonnet reached England in the 16 th century, and was modified by Edmund Spenser and Sidney, in to the Elizabethan Sonnet form. Edmund Spenser, Sidney, William Shakespeare, John Donne were the greatest exponents of this form. Donne is an exception- has used Elizabethan form but Classical rhythm pattern. The Elizabethan Sonnet Form 14 lines Three Quartets of four lines each (4+4+4) Final couplet for conclusion (+2) Rhythm abab ; cdcd; efef gg OR abab ; bcbc; cdcd, ec 3

4 Examples of Elizabethan Sonnet Shakespearean Sonnet No 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer s day? 1. (a Thou art more lovely and more temperate : (b Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (a And summer s lease hath all too short a date? (b ( Quartet 1) Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (a And often is his gold complexion dimm d: (b And every fair from fair sometime declines, (a By chance, or nature s changing course untrimm d; (Quartet 2) (b 4

5 Shakespearean Sonnet No 18 contd. But thy eternal summer shall not fade, (a Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow st; (b Nor shall death brag thou wander st in his shade,(a When in eternal lines to time thou grow st; (b (Quartet 3) So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, (a So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (a ( Couplet) 5

6 Example of a Miltonic Sonnet ON HIS TWENTY-THIRD BIRTHDAY How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, (a Stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year! (b My hasting days fly on with full career, (b But my late spring no bud or blossom shew th. (a Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth, (a That I to manhood am arriv d so near, (b And inward ripeness doth much less appear, (b That some more timely-happy spirit endu th. (a ( 8 lines of Octave) 6

7 Miltonic Sonnet - continued Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow, (c It shall still be in strictest measure even, (d To that same lot, however mean, or high, (e Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heav n; (c All is, if I have grace to use it so, (d As ever in my great Task-master s eye. (e (Sestes) 7

8 John Donne ( ) s sonnet Death be not proud, though some have called thee (a Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so, (b For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow, (b Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me. (a From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, (a Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, (b And soonest our best men with thee do go, (b Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. (a 8

9 Donne continued Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men, (a And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, (b And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well, (b And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? (a One short sleep past, we wake eternally, (c And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die. (c 9

10 Emotional depth in 14 lines through Imagery The Sonnet is the most difficult format to use for writing poetry. The entire story is required to conveyed in 14 lines. This is made possible by extensive use of imagery. Uses a very diverse range of thoughts, images, allusions, to express a range of feelings from cynicism to ecstasy. 10

11 Spenser s Sonnet No. 13 In Sonnet No. 13 he uses the metaphor and imagery of a fortress under siege, to convey his attempt to win his lady s love. His love and passion for his lady are like an army surrounding the fortress of the lady, forcing her to surrender by accepting his love. The poet outside the fortress feels frustrated and defeated, while the lady stands unaffected like the strong fortress, that is not to be won over easily 11

12 Sonnet 30 In Sonnet 30, the poet wonders why the lady is not responding to his love. The entire sonnet is a metaphor. This Sonnet, is a very good example of logical use of structure of the sonnet. Three quatrains pose three questions, and the couplet answers it. The first two questions are about growth of fire despite constant ice. The third question is about how ice can kindle a fire. The couplet explains the unnatural happenings posed in the three questions, as a paradoxical truth: Love can change the laws of Nature. 12

13 Use of Sonnets Most sonnets were written as love poems to woo real ladies. For example, Spenser wrote Amoretti meaning Little love or infant cupid to woo Elizabeth Boyle, whom he married in All the sonnets of Shakespeare are addressed to the Dark Lady with whom he was in love, and whose identity was never revealed. 13

14 Simple yet vibrant imagery The best of the 154 Sonnets of Shakespeare have this quality of conveying deep emotions through simple yet vibrant imagery that brings the poem to life. The two Sonnets prescribed for Class 10 th are Shakespeare s Sonnet 55 and P. B. Shelley s Ozymandias 14