Wednesday, 15 April 2020

English 11 Sonnet 18 Iambic pentameter


Sonnet #18
William Shakespeare

sonnet – little song
style of poetry associated with Shakespeare
Shakespeare wrote plays , and also sonnets
very beautiful, deep meaning

structure
rhythm is iambic pentameter

Shall I / com pare  / thee to / a Sum / mer's day? iambic – heartbeat
five beats – penta     iambic pentameter

Thou art / more love / ly and  / more tem / per ate:
Rough winds  / do shake  / the dar / ling buds  / of May,
And Sum / mer's lease /hath all / too short  /a date:
Some time / too hot / the eye / of hea / ven shines,
And oft' / is his  / gold com/ plex i / on dimm'd;
complexion – we pronounce as three syllables, in the sonnet seems to be four syllables – forced in order to suit the rhythm of the poem, maybe pronunciation at the time
And oft' / is his  / gold com/ plex i / on dimm'd
oft’ – often ’ to make the rhythm work
And oft/ en is / his gold / com plex / ion dimm'd – better, I think
He’s Shakespeare, I’m not. Nevertheless, I have an opinion.
A Shakespeare scholar would be fascinated by the different versions of the poem.

And ev /ery fair  / from fair  / sometime  / declines,
every – ev’ry – would be better in my opinion

By chance / or na / ture's chan / ging course / untrimm'd:
But thy / eter / nal Sum / mer shall  / not fade
Nor lose / posses / sion of / that fair / thou owest;
owest – treated as one syllable  has , owns -better, in my opinion

Nor shall / Death brag / thou wan / derest in / his shade,
wanderest – treated as two syllables

When in / eter / nal lines / to time / thou growest:
growest – treated as one syllable version - grow’st

So long / as men / can breathe, / or eyes / can see,

So long / lives this, and this / gives life / to thee.


Study of micropoetics, versions of a text, history, pronunciation, etc.
Academic study -

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