Shakespearean Sonnets
Rationale: According
to TN State Standards for English I, students should “demonstrate knowledge of
the characteristics of sonnets (SPI 3001.8.11).
Additionally, we these sonnets will allow us to discuss iambic
pentameter, rhyme scheme, and figurative language (all of which are required by
TN State Standards). And finally,
students will also get exposed to the language of Shakespeare, which is less
threatening when they see 14 lines rather than the whole play of Romeo & Juliet.
1. “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun” (Sonnet 130)
This sonnet is one of my
favorites by Shakespeare, and the students usually like it, as well. It’s not a traditional mushy love
sonnet. Shakespeare writes about his
love’s plain and even unattractive features, but he goes on to say that it is a
rare love.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 1.3
2. Analysis and side-by-side Translation of “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun”
This site provides a
side-by-side translation of the sonnet, provides help with vocabulary, explains
allusions, and explains Shakespeare’s motivation for writing it.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 13.7
3. “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” (Sonnet 18)
This is one of those ooie-gooie
love sonnets. This might be good to let
students compare and contrast this sonnet with “My Mistress’ Eyes.”
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 3.0
4. “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” (Sonnet 116)
This is arguably Shakespeare’s
best known sonnet. The speaker describes
an ideal true love.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 6.7
5. “When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes” (Sonnet 29)
This sonnet is about a man who
feels lonely and unsuccessful and feels jealous of others, but when he remembers
his love, he decides that he is not lacking.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 0…yep, that’s really what it said. I tried it several times.
6. “Queen Mab” from Romeo and Juliet (I.iv, lines 53-57)
In this part of the play, Mercutio is making fun of Romeo for
being in love, and he tells about a fairy who is responsible for love. This can seem somewhat nonsensical to some,
but the imagery is so good. This would
be a good excerpt to let students illustrate.
There’s a lot of figurative language here, as well.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 9.1
Note: Numbers 3-6 can
be found in the following picture book:
Kastan, D. S., & Kastan K. (2008). Poetry for young people: William Shakespeare. New
York, NY: Sterling.
This picturebook could serve as an excellent introduction to William Shakespeare. The artistry is beautiful, there are excerpts from several of his plays, sonnets, and an introduction to the man himself. This is a book that I would showcase at the beginning of the unit, choosing a few pieces to share with the students, but then I would leave it within student’s reach, so they could flip through it on their own.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 1.3 – 8.6
7. Sparknotes – No Fear Shakespeare
This is a good resource for struggling readers. Students can read the original and modern day
text in a side-by-side translation.
There is also a link for an iPhone app.
You can download the app for free, and then you can buy the play for
only 99 cents.
Original Text - Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 4.8
Modern Text - Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 4.5
8. Your Amazing Brain… The Science of Love
This site discusses the chemicals that are
active in a person’s brain during the different stages of love. Students can examine Romeo & Juliet’s
relationship with the knowledge of science, as well as learn what’s going on in
their own bodies if/when they fall in love.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 10.3
9. The Science of Love: What goes on in the
brain during attraction, bonding
This article explains the science of love
but with a narrative, so it might be a little easier for the students to
understand. Also, there’s an allusion to
Shakespeare’s “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” (Sonnet 18), so it’s an
excellent opportunity to review “allusion.”
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 7.9
BrainPOP.com
10. Etymology
This video from BrainPOP answers the question that my
students ALWAYS ask when we read Shakespeare, “ Why do they talk like that?” This video would also be a good introduction to
letting students play with prefixes, roots, and suffixes to make their own words. This video addresses Shakespeare’s use of
Latin and Greek roots to invent words.
There are related articles the students can read after the video. I recommend “Laws and Customs” which
addresses how new words are invented and who decides to put them in the
dictionary.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 12.3
11. William Shakespeare – Intro movie
This video is a great introduction to Shakespeare’s life and
to his plays. It also talks about the
Globe Theatre. There are related
aritlces the students can read after the video.
I recommend “Way Back When,” which discusses Christopher Marlow. Some historians believe that Shakespeare didn’t
write his own plays, and Marlow is sometimes suggested as the true author. I don’t believe that theory, but students will
likely hear about it eventually, so it would be good to address it and let them
decide for themselves.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 10.3
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 10.3
12. Drama
http://www.brainpop.com/english/writing/drama/
This video addresses how drama is different than other genres. There are related articles the students can read after the video. I recommend“Around the World,” an article about the Globe Theatre
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 13.2
13. Timeline for Romeo and Juliet
This site is very helpful because it has
plot summaries listed with the day and time the events took place. The events of Romeo and Juliet take place
over a course of 5 days: Sunday through
Thursday.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 7.0
14. O.Henry Pun-Off World Championships: Jest
for a Wordy Cause!
They actually have pun-offs! Using this site, I found who won the Pun-off
for 2012. This would be a good site to reference to see if there is any other pun information....
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 13.2
See video of 2012 Pun-Off Winner, Jerzy Gwiazdowski below:
15. Shakespeare: Interdisciplinary Unit
Robbins, M.L. (1995). Interdisciplinary unit: Shakespeare challenging. CA: Teacher Created Materials.
This resource is amazing. It has information about Shakespeare, Elizabethan times, Etymolgy, Astronomy and Astrology, the theatre, the telescope, sonnets, soliloquys, ships, refrigeration…and it’s all in student-directed materials.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability: 10.9
You found a good variety of resources to study the sonnets. I liked the online versions with accompanying modern translations, and puns are always a welcome sight. Knowing there is such a thing as a Pun[Off is a good thing. So is Shakesbear :p
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the Flesch Kincaid does not really hold up well when it comes to poetry. Something about the line lengths and punctuation messes up the whole enterprise.
And those science of love sites are racy!
ReplyDelete