Assignment

Essay

750-1000 words

Choose and complete one of the questions below:

For those who enjoy creating their own texts:

Write and analyze your own sonnet. My expectation is that your sonnet will adhere to the strict rules of the sonnet form but, of course, a few transgressions will make it more interesting.

The sonnet will not be graded on your brilliance as a poet but rather on the extent you understand and achieve the sonnet form. Mostly I am interested in your analysis: how do the transgressions aid in the signification of the sonnet? Are the metre/ rhyme scheme/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ punctuation etc working in concert with the theme of the sonnet, or do they provide a tension with the theme of the sonnet? Avoid discussing figurative language and imagery. Instead focus your attention on the sonnet's form.

You will need to submit the following:

A copy of your sonnet (which should have a title)
A 2-3 page analysis of your sonnet
A copy of your sonnet plotted on the iambic grid with all deviations circled

For those who enjoy pulling apart other texts:

Analyze one of the assigned sonnets from the handout that has not been covered in the discussions or the lecture. Your analysis must attend to the way the structure of the poem (metre/rhyme scheme/ alliteration/ assonance/ consonance/ punctuation etc) works in concert with the theme of the sonnet, or provides a tension with the theme of the sonnet. Avoid discussing figurative language and imagery. Instead focus your attention on the sonnet's form.

You will need to submit the following:
Your essay (which should have a proper title)
A copy of the sonnet plotted on the iambic grid with all deviations circled (5%)
A Work Cited in MLA format.