Bellwork 1/8/15: Copy the notes.

Francesco Petrarch- a man who lived about 300

years before Shakespeare; wrote a series of
sonnets to a woman named Laura.
Petrarchan sonnet- divides the poem into one
section of eight lines (octave) and a second
section of six lines (sestet), usually following an
abbaabba cdecde rhyme scheme, or abbacddc

Please exchange your homework with a

neighbor

my MIStress EYES are NOTHing LIKE the SUN;

CORal is FAR more RED than HER lips RED;
if SNOW be WHITE, why THEN her BREASTS are DUN;
if HAIRS be WIRES, black WIRES grow ON her HEAD.
i HAVE seen ROSes DAMasked, RED and WHITE,
but NO such ROSes SEE i IN her CHEEKS;
and IN some PERfumes IS there MORE deLIGHT
than IN the BREATH that FROM my MIStress REEKS.
i LOVE to HEAR her SPEAK, yet WELL i KNOW
that MUsic HATH a FAR more PLEAsing SOUND;
i GRANT i NEVer SAW a GODdess GO;
my MIStress WHEN she WALKS treads ON the GROUND.
and YET, by HEAven, i THINK my LOVE as RARE
as ANy SHE beLIED with FALSE comPARE.

Petrarch and Laura

Laura was the love of Petrarchs life.
He wrote Il Canzoniere, a collection
of 366 poems (mostly sonnets) for
her.
Who she was and even if she existed
is a bit of a mystery. Some evidence
suggests that she was real and the
daughter of a knight.
Petrarch fell in love with her at first
sight, but she was already married.
He loved her from afar and its
possible they never actually had a
conversation.
Still, his sonnets dedicated to her
are some of the best examples of
love poetry in existence.

Turn to page 789/842

While we wont be studying Petrarchan sonnets in
detail, you do need a bit of detail about Petrarch
to understand the following poem by Billy Collins.
Sometimes poets like to poke fun at themselves
and other poets.
On page 789/842, lets look at Billy Collins
Sonnet.

Sonnet by Billy Collins

All we need is fourteen lines, well, thirteen now,
and after this one just a dozen
to launch a little ship on love's storm-tossed seas,
then only ten more left like rows of beans.
How easily it goes unless you get Elizabethan
and insist the iambic bongos must be played
and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines,
one for every station of the cross.
But hang on here while we make the turn
into the final six where all will be resolved,
where longing and heartache will find an end,
where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen,
take off those crazy medieval tights,
blow out the lights, and come at last to bed.

In groups of two or three:

Analyze the poem for the following (use the following as a
guideline for writing down your answers):
1. Rhyme scheme: does it have one?
2. Sonnet structure (is it Shakespearean or Petrarchan? Pick
which one is closest)
3. Rhythm of lines 1-8: yes, please write them out
4. Are any of the lines in iambic pentameter? Which ones?
(five feet of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed
syllable?)
5. Poetic devices

ALL we NEED is FOURteen LINES, well, THIRteen

NOW,
and AFTer THIS one JUST a DOZen
to LAUNCH a LITtle SHIP on love's STORM-tossed
SEAS,
then ONly TEN more LEFT like ROWS of BEANS.
how EAsiLY it GOES unLESS you GET eLIZaBEthan
and inSIST the iAMbic BONgos MUST be PLAYED
and RHYMES poSItioned AT the ENDS of LINES,
ONE for EVEry STAtion OF the CROSS.

Homework
In what respects is Collins poem a traditional
sonnet? In what respects is it not?