March Notes

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AP English

NOTES
March 1, 2004

March 1, 2004
AP English Notes

Poetry Made Simple
by Anna Lee Gibson

Perhaps 30 to 40 percent of the AP College Board Literature and Composition Exam centers on poetry. Also, much of the literature studied in college is poetry. Therefore, students must have a working knowledge of poetry and poetry terms which allows them to speak and write with confidence.

Students seem to panic when they hear the dreaded word poetry. Additionally, many students believe their instructors have some secret knowledge concerning this form of writing. Perhaps they do, but we plan to give you helpful hints that should make poetry much simpler to understand.

Have you ever wondered how your teachers know the difference between a sonnet and a ballad? Do these instructors seem to have some magical power that allows them to know through osmosis what type of poetry they're reading? Well, they do not possess magic; instead, your teachers probably know a few simple rules about verse structure. Now, free of charge, we are going to teach you the tricks that only English professors know but never tell.

1, 2, 3 and a, b, c

The first simple trick is to count. You can count to nineteen, can't you? If so, you can identify verse form.

First, what is a sonnet? You may know Shakespeare wrote these, but how do you know when you are reading one? Do we have news for you--the answer is simple!

A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem

Remember, we said, if you could count, you would win the battle of poetry.

Perhaps you have also heard your instructors mention a certain type of sonnet form, such as a Shakespearean sonnet. If you know your abc's, then you will be able to identify different sonnet forms. Here is the secret: you can identify types of sonnets forms by marking the end rhyme scheme of sonnets and matching these with formulated end rhymes schemes.

We have marked the end rhyme of William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130." In case you have never marked end rhyme before, you simply begin with the last syllable of the first line and mark that sound as A.

Next, say the last word in the second line. Does this word rhyme with the word that ends the first line? If so, then this line should also be marked A. Yet, in "Sonnet 130," the first line ends in sun A and the second line ends in red. Sun and red do not rhyme; therefore, we will give the sound of red the alphabetical equivalent of B.

Each time you encounter a new sound. In the end rhyme, you must mark this as a new letter from the alphabet. Also remember each time a sound is repeated to give the same letter value. Sound easy? Well take a look at the end rhyme scheme of "Sonnet 130."

Sonnet 130
by William Shakespeare

MY MISTRESS' EYES ARE NOTHING LIKE THE SUN; A
CORAL IS FAR MORE RED THAN HER LIPS' RED; B
IF SNOW BE WHITE, WHY THEN HER BREASTS ARE DUN; A
IF HAIRS BE WIRES; BLACK WIRES GROW ON HER HEAD; B
I HAVE SEEN ROSES DAMASKED, RED AND WHITE. C
BUT NO SUCH ROSES SEE I IN HER CHEEKS; D
AND IN SOME PERFUMES IS THERE MORE DELIGHT C
THAN IN THE BREATH THAT MY MISTRESS REEKS; D
I LOVE TO HEAR HER SPEAK, YET WELL I KNOW E
THAT MUSIC HATH A FAR MORE PLEASING SOUND; F
I GRANT I NEVER SAW A GODDESS GO; E
MY MISTRESS, WHEN SHE WALKS, TREADS ON THE GROUND F
AND YET, BY HEAVENS, I THINK MY LOVE AS RARE G
AS ANY SHE BELIED WITH FALSE COMPARE. G

Notice that each time the sound pattern changes you must mark that sound with a new letter from the alphabet. We told you this was as easy as counting or saying your abc’s.

Sonnet Form Chart

Still, how do your instructors know the difference between a Spenserian sonnet, an Italian sonnet, and a Shakespearean sonnet? The answer is again simple. Primarily, end rhyme scheme determines the type of sonnet. Look at this list of sonnet end-rhyme schemes.

SONNETS (14 LINES)
ABBAABBA CDECDE ITALIAN OR PETRARCHAN

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG ENGLISH OR SHAKESPEAREAN

ABAB BCBC CDCD EE SPENSERIAN OR LINKED

All you need to know is the end rhyme, the abc's of poetry, to determine the type of sonnet. Do not panic! There is an easy way to memorize these patterns. Again, we are suggesting you use a type of literary association to recall these verse forms.

Shakespearean Sonnets
First, remember the Shakespearean sonnet form. Here is the form:ABAB CDCD EFEF GG ENGLISH OR SHAKESPEAREAN

Notice that each quatrain (each set of four lines) is independent from the other verses. In other words, there are no repetition of rhyming words in following stanzas. Therefore, remember the great poet Shakespeare stands alone; he has no equal and his sonnet quatrains also stand alone. In addition, the Shakespearean sonnet ends with a final couplet (a set of two lines) that summarizes the thoughts of the quatrains. The final couplet's end-rhyme scheme is GG. You can remember that Shakespeare is the Great Genius of poetry; therefore, when you see the end rhyme GG, the name Shakespeare should jump into you consciousness. Remember GG, Great Genius–Shakespeare! Sound simple?

Italian Sonnets

Shall we show you the trick to remembering an Italian sonnet form? This memory devise is easier if you can sing; if not, join your instructors and pretend you can. Here is the Italian sonnet form:

ABBAABBA CDECDE
ITALIAN OR PETRARCHAN

We remember the Italian sonnet by singing "ABBA ABBA, sestet, C, D, E." Remember that a sestet is a group of six lines; therefore for six lines the Italian sonnet rhymes CDECDE. Also, ABBA is pronounced as a word, like the Swedish singing group. Again sing, or pretend to sing:

ABBAABBA, sestet, C, D, E

If you repeat this several times, the line begins to have a strange but pleasing result on you, much like Italian food.

Spenserian Sonnets
Now that you know the Gibson Method of memorizing the Italian and Shakespearean sonnet forms, we know that you are anticipating the trick to memorizing the Spenserian sonnet form. To refresh your memory. here the Spenserian sonnet form is again:

ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
SPENSERIAN OR LINKED

Review the following Spenserian sonnet which has the end rhyme scheme marked.

SONNET 75
by EDMUND SPENSER

ONE DAY I WROTE HER NAME UPON THE STRAND A
BUT CAME THE WAVES AND WASHED IT AWAY: B
AGAIN I WROTE IT WITH A SECOND HAND, A
BUT CAME THE TIDE AND MADE MY PAINS HIS PREY. B
"VAIN MAN," SAID SHE, "THOU DOST IN VAIN ASSAY B
A MORTAL THING SO TO IMMORTALIZE, C
FOR I MYSELF SHALL LIKE TO THIS DECAY. B
AND EKE MY NAME BE WIPED OUT LIKEWISE." C
"NOT SO," QUOTH I, .. LET BASER THINGS DEVISE C
TO DIE IN DUST, BUT YOU SHALL LIVE IN FAME; D
MY VERSE YOUR VIRTUES RARE SHALL ETERNIZE, C
AND IN THE HEAVEN WRITE YOUR GLORIOUS NAME. D
WHERE, WHEN AS DEATH SHALL ALL THE WORLD SUBDUE, E
OUR LOVE SHALL LIVE, AND LATER LIFE RENEW." E

Notice that each of the quatrains (set of four lines) is linked:
ABAB BCBC CDCD EE

The second and fourth lines rhyme with the fifth and seventh lines. Often the Spenserian sonnet is called a linked sonnet because of this repetition of rhyming sounds. You might remember that Edmund Spenser had a link to both England and Ireland: hence, the linked sonnet is Spenser's.

In addition, notice that the final couplet's end rhyme scheme is EE. You may remember, as Mrs. Worley did, that Spenser had huge, dark, mysterious eyes; in other words, EE--Ebony Eyes. One or both of these keys may aid you in remembering the Spenserian sonnet form.

Below is a chart of terms for the number of lines used in poetry and common verse names given to these lines. We always work on the premise that if the material is well organized the mind will store and recall the information more easily.

SONNETS (14 lines)
ABBMBBA CDECDE – ITALIAN OR PETRARCHAN
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG – ENGLISH OR SHAKESPEAREAN

ABAB BCBC CDCD EE – SPENSERIAN OR LINKED

TERZA RIMA (3 lines)
ABA
BCB
CDC
EFE

BALLAD (4 lines)
ABCB
4/3 4/3 IAMBIC TETRAMETERITRIMETER

BURNS STANZA (6 lines)
AAA BCB

VENUS AND ADONIS STANZA (6 lines)
ABABCC

RHYME ROYAL (7 lines)
ABAB BCC

OTTAVA RIMA (8 lines)
ABABABCC

SPENSERIAN STANZA (9 lines)
ABAB BCBC C
VILLANELLE (19 lines)
ABA
ABA
ABA
ABA
ABA
ABAA