Creative and Critical Thinking
ASSIGNMENT 6: Writing Sonnets
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Learning Target (Curricular Competencies):
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Task:
It's time to try your hand at a more structured approach to creative writing. That almost seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it?
However, the sonnet is a beautiful medium to communicate your thoughts on a particular subject. But it has some specific requirements.
- A sonnet maintains a single main idea, whether it is about love, power, or the state of mankind. It is long enough so that the idea can be explored (14 lines). Since the structure of a sonnet has to conform to certain rules, great skill is needed to craft a sonnet.
- The main idea is developed with clear and descriptive figurative language.
- The sonnet deals with serious thought. It is always a poem of 14 lines. There is a specific rhythm and rhyme scheme depending on the type of sonnet. The rhyme scheme of a sonnet refers to the pattern formed by the rhyming words at the end of each line. Each end-rhyme is assigned a letter, and the fourteen letters assigned to the sonnet describe the rhyme scheme.
- All sonnets should be written in iambic pentameter with independent rhyming schemes for the two parts. Each line in a sonnet always has 10 syllables.
In one type of sonnet a natural division occurs between the first eight lines, called the octave, which contain the story or idea, and the last six lines, the sestet, which contain a reflection or application growing out of the octave. This form is called the regular sonnet, but it is more commonly known as the Italian sonnet or a Petrarchan sonnet, from the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch. The rhyme scheme follows this pattern: ABBAABBA CDECDE. Perhaps the best known example of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet is "How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)", by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861).
The second form of sonnet is a Shakespearean sonnet or English sonnet, and it has the division occurring at the end of the 12th line (3 quatrains); the closing couplet (rhyming couplet) is a climax of the main part. The rhyme scheme follows this pattern: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. A well-known example of a Shakespearean sonnet is William Shakespeare's own "Sonnet 18", which is more commonly referred to under the title "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"
If you're still struggling with iambic pentameter, this is a good tutorial.
Don't stress (pun intended) too much about the exactness of your iambic pentameter; focus instead on the development of your main idea in the structure of the rhyme scheme.
Source: https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/types-sonnet
Assessment: Below you will find the exemplary criteria used to assess the assignment.
Learning Target: (Exemplary 6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective. Student demonstrates critical, creative, and reflective thinking to apply appropriate strategies to create and comprehend text recognizing how different features and forms of texts enhance and shape meaning and impact. The sonnet has a clearly developed main idea with exemplary use of figurative language
Structural Design: Exemplary (6/6): Exemplary comprehension of the task and clear accomplishment of the objective. Student demonstrates exemplary use of sonnet rhyme and rhythm structure in 14 lines. Layout of poem is balanced and logically organized.
Submission:
Use the "1.6 Writing Sonnets" link on the main page of this section of the course to upload your assignment to your teacher for marking.