
This post is part of the series: Teaching Poetic Devices

English or Shakespearean Sonnet: The rhyme scheme of a Shakesperean Sonnet is ababcdcdefefgg.Each line of a sonnet consists of 10 syllables following a pattern of unstressed syllable, stressed syllable. The basic meter in sonnets is iambic pentameter.If that sound is repeated later on in the poem, that line receives the same letter (you’ll probably want to give some examples). To identify rhyme scheme, assign a letter of the alphabet to each rhymed sound at the end of a line. Sonnets have a specific rhyme scheme, the pattern of rhyme in a poem.Mr.Sternman fired me on the spot and my sonnet lesson plan has remained dormant ever since.

Instead, I choked on my spit, passed out, and peed my pants.

I could have explained how analyzing and writing poetry helps to develop thinking skills. I could have said that writing poetry helps develop word skills and that writing sonnets forces us to use words in ways we never imagined. Deadmeat,” he said, “This is a great sonnet lesson plan and the poems are pretty good, but why are you even teaching sonnets? When will I ever use this?” Things were going well until Frankie Ruinlife in the fourth row asked a question. Sternman sat in the back of the room writing my teacher evaluation.
