In
ASC Theatre Camp, the night before the last day, we have “Sonnet Night”
where every camper and staff member reads a sonnet he or she has
written to another member of the camp. It’s a night full of love,
usually full of tears and happiness at all we’ve gone through together.
Your sonnet partner is secret until the event itself, and people are
encouraged to dress up as the person they are celebrating. It’s a pretty
wonderful tradition, but it means that people need to be thinking about
it early on in the camp. So here are some hints on sonnet writing for
any of you interested in joining in on the love.
Some Tips for Sonnet Writing
What is a Sonnet?
A Shakespearean sonnet is a fourteen line poem, in iambic pentameter with three quatrains and a couplet.
Wait, iambic pentameter?
We’ve talked about this a bit in camp already, but just to refresh, iambic pentameter means that there are 10 (or occasionally 11) syllables in every line and that usually syllables 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are emphasized. For example, “To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fine wit.” In this sentence, the emphasized words (or syllables) are also nice meaningful words, and the connecting words like “to” and “with” have less emphasis.
Three Quatrains and a what?
Quatrains and couplets are terms used in poetry indicating a rhyming pattern. A quatrain is a set of four lines with alternating rhyme (ABAB) and a couplet is just a pair of two lines which rhyme back to back. So the scheme for a (Shakespearean) sonnet is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG or three quatrains and a couplet. Here’s one of Shakespeare’s sonnets if you’d like to follow along:
As an unperfect actor on the stage,
Who with his fear is put beside his part,
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,
Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;
So I for fear of trust, forget to say,
The perfect ceremony of love's rite,
And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,
O'ercharged with burthen of mine own love's might:
O let my looks be then the eloquence,
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love, and look for recompense,
More than that tongue that more hath more expressed.
O learn to read what silent love hath writ,
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.
What if I can’t find any words that rhyme?
There are lots of rhyming dictionaries online, you can look for some rhymes there.
Anything else I should know?
If you’re stuck for how to organize your sonnet, Shakespeare often uses the first eight lines to ask a question or state one idea. The final six lines can then answer the question or express something different and the final couplet makes sense all by itself. You could even write your final couplet first.
Sonnets in this camp are about the community and learning and love we’ve all had together, so remember that as you write to your secret sonnet-er: sonnets are about love.
Some Tips for Sonnet Writing
What is a Sonnet?
A Shakespearean sonnet is a fourteen line poem, in iambic pentameter with three quatrains and a couplet.
Wait, iambic pentameter?
We’ve talked about this a bit in camp already, but just to refresh, iambic pentameter means that there are 10 (or occasionally 11) syllables in every line and that usually syllables 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are emphasized. For example, “To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fine wit.” In this sentence, the emphasized words (or syllables) are also nice meaningful words, and the connecting words like “to” and “with” have less emphasis.
Three Quatrains and a what?
Quatrains and couplets are terms used in poetry indicating a rhyming pattern. A quatrain is a set of four lines with alternating rhyme (ABAB) and a couplet is just a pair of two lines which rhyme back to back. So the scheme for a (Shakespearean) sonnet is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG or three quatrains and a couplet. Here’s one of Shakespeare’s sonnets if you’d like to follow along:
As an unperfect actor on the stage,
Who with his fear is put beside his part,
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,
Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;
So I for fear of trust, forget to say,
The perfect ceremony of love's rite,
And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,
O'ercharged with burthen of mine own love's might:
O let my looks be then the eloquence,
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love, and look for recompense,
More than that tongue that more hath more expressed.
O learn to read what silent love hath writ,
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.
What if I can’t find any words that rhyme?
There are lots of rhyming dictionaries online, you can look for some rhymes there.
Anything else I should know?
If you’re stuck for how to organize your sonnet, Shakespeare often uses the first eight lines to ask a question or state one idea. The final six lines can then answer the question or express something different and the final couplet makes sense all by itself. You could even write your final couplet first.
Sonnets in this camp are about the community and learning and love we’ve all had together, so remember that as you write to your secret sonnet-er: sonnets are about love.
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