William Shakespeare Sonnet 116
Aim: How can Shakespeare’s sonnet 116 relates to our personal lives?
Do Now: Write about a time when a best friend’s personal flaws got in the way of your friendship. Or, have you ever stopped seeing/loving someone (friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, family, etc.) because of a personal flaw?
Students will do the following
Write a brief paragraph on what you think is the meaning of the poem.
Think about two questions that you would like to discuss about this poem and write it in your journal/notebook. Now pass your journals around your table and have your peers answer the questions.
Thematic: What is the overall Theme of this sonnet? Cite supporting lines from the sonnet
Do Now: Write about a time when a best friend’s personal flaws got in the way of your friendship. Or, have you ever stopped seeing/loving someone (friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, family, etc.) because of a personal flaw?
One of my friends, who I have been a friend with for 8 years, has a huge personal flaw that got in-between our friendship. His ego grew to twice his body, and he honestly started to believe that he knew everything. When he starts to talk, he becomes loud and obnoxious. The last straw was when he started talking about technology. I just could not bear with ego and terminated the friendship.
Procedures:
Teacher Read Aloud: Sonnet 116Students will do the following
I believe that this sonnet is trying to describe the negative aspect of love. It is trying to say that not all love is pure, and that some love can change and alter lives.
Q1: How can love not equal love? That is like saying X is not equal to X, which does not compute.
Q1A: This is not what line 2 is saying. Line 2 continues onto lines 3 and 4 to state that love alters over time and between people.
Q2: What does Shakespeare mean in line one when he states “Let me not to the marriage of true minds.”
Q2A: Personal flaws shall not become between a bond a two people that truly love one another.
Cooperative Learning:Q1A: This is not what line 2 is saying. Line 2 continues onto lines 3 and 4 to state that love alters over time and between people.
Q2: What does Shakespeare mean in line one when he states “Let me not to the marriage of true minds.”
Q2A: Personal flaws shall not become between a bond a two people that truly love one another.
Thematic: What is the overall Theme of this sonnet? Cite supporting lines from the sonnet
Undying Love, Love should last forever, Love is Blind.
Literary Analysis: Look carefully at lines 5-8 notice any metaphors?
It is the star to every wandering bark. Love should be constant like stars are constant to guide ships.
Think About: What kind of person might the speaker be? The likely age of such a person. The experiences that such a person might have had.
The speaker might be someone who has really been in love, someone who has seen another for qualities other than their physical appearance. I would have to say that this speaker would have to be of much older age as this past statement is very wise of someone to say, and typically the older are more wise. As for experiences, the speaker has probably seen many who, although may not be physically appealing, were compatible through sharing the same ideas and concepts.
Do you think the speaker’s concept of love is realistic? Why or Why not?
No the speaker’s concept of love cannot be realistic as everyone has their own pet-peeves and everyone treasures beauty in one form or another.
Connect: What is the ONE flaw that could turn you away from a person? What do you think you can do to overlook this flaw (if you are willing)?
The one flaw would be that person’s ego. Everyone should be open to learn more and not believe that they know everything. The only thing that I could do would be to build my tolerance for an ego.
Mechanics: Scan this sonnet -----/-----/ with stress and unstressed