Practice interpreting Shakespearean language, identifying sonnet structure, and analyzing poetic devices in Shakespeare's writing.
Read each problem carefully. Use complete sentences when explaining your thinking. Show your work in the space provided.
Understanding early modern English, sonnet form, and poetic meaning
Language Arts - Grade 9-12
- 1
Translate this line into modern English: "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" Explain the meaning of the word "wherefore" in this line.
- 2
Match each Shakespearean pronoun to its modern meaning: thou, thee, thy, thine.
- 3
Rewrite this sentence in standard modern word order: "So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
- 4
Describe the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet. Include the number of lines, the main sections, and the usual rhyme scheme.
- 5
Label the rhyme scheme of these lines from Sonnet 18: "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."
- 6
Paraphrase these lines in modern English: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate."
- 7
Identify the meter usually used in Shakespearean sonnets. Then explain what the pattern means.
- 8
Count the syllables in this line and explain how it fits iambic pentameter: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"
- 9
Explain the meaning of the term "volta" in a sonnet. Where does the volta often appear in a Shakespearean sonnet?
- 10
Analyze the personification in this line from Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May." What is being described, and how does the wording affect the image?
- 11
Explain the theme in these lines from Sonnet 18: "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
- 12
Write an original Shakespearean-style couplet about time, beauty, love, or memory. Use two rhyming lines and then explain the idea of your couplet.