Assignment: 7.3a Assignment- Iambic Pentameter

Oklahoma High School- Drama/Theatre Course (OK Art Tech)
2025-03-06T14:26:29Z

Due:

Iambic Pentameter

Sonnet Example

On the previous page, you were introduced to Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. Remember, a sonnet is a type of poem that has 14 lines and is written in iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a rhythmic pattern that consists of ten syllables per line, with alternating unaccented and accented syllables.

Watch the video below for another reading of Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare.

Video: Shakespeare Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Socratica. (2012, Jan 24). Shakespeare Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/FnMDj1K0gks?si=8by0VHgE9idW2PaA

Click on the button at the bottom of the video to access the closed captions.

Notice how the actor from this video and the actor from the video on the previous page sound different. However, they both read in a consistent rhythm so that the iambic pentameter is recognizable and effective. Now that you have heard the sonnet performed by actors, it is your turn! Reading and recording lines from Sonnet 18 will allow you to identify which syllables are accented and unaccented, and will also allow you to hear the underlying rhythm structure of a poem written in the iambic pentameter meter.

Assignment

For this assignment, you will record yourself reading at least the first 4 lines from Sonnet 18 and emphasizing every other syllable in each line. Use the highlighted version in the previous lesson for guidance, and you may listen to the audio example provided below. If you want to challenge yourself, read more than four lines.

You will be graded on accurately emphasizing every other syllable from the first four lines in Sonnet 18. Remember that the first syllable in each line is unaccented, and the last syllable in each line is accented.

You will use the Media Recording submission type for this assignment. Your recording can be audio only or audio/video.

Audio: Iambic Pentameter Assignment Example

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake thy darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

How to submit

1. Review the rubric for this assignment.

2. Scroll down to Choose a Submission Type.

3. Use Media Recording to complete your work.

4. Click Submit Assignment.

Click the Next button in the lower right to move forward in the module.

Iambic Pentameter

Sonnet Example

On the previous page, you were introduced to Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. Remember, a sonnet is a type of poem that has 14 lines and is written in iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a rhythmic pattern that consists of ten syllables per line, with alternating unaccented and accented syllables.

Watch the video below for another reading of Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare.

Video: Shakespeare Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Socratica. (2012, Jan 24). Shakespeare Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/FnMDj1K0gks?si=8by0VHgE9idW2PaA

Click on the button at the bottom of the video to access the closed captions.

Notice how the actor from this video and the actor from the video on the previous page sound different. However, they both read in a consistent rhythm so that the iambic pentameter is recognizable and effective. Now that you have heard the sonnet performed by actors, it is your turn! Reading and recording lines from Sonnet 18 will allow you to identify which syllables are accented and unaccented, and will also allow you to hear the underlying rhythm structure of a poem written in the iambic pentameter meter.

Assignment

For this assignment, you will record yourself reading at least the first 4 lines from Sonnet 18 and emphasizing every other syllable in each line. Use the highlighted version in the previous lesson for guidance, and you may listen to the audio example provided below. If you want to challenge yourself, read more than four lines.

You will be graded on accurately emphasizing every other syllable from the first four lines in Sonnet 18. Remember that the first syllable in each line is unaccented, and the last syllable in each line is accented.

You will use the Media Recording submission type for this assignment. Your recording can be audio only or audio/video.

Audio: Iambic Pentameter Assignment Example

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake thy darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

How to submit

1. Review the rubric for this assignment.

2. Scroll down to Choose a Submission Type.

3. Use Media Recording to complete your work.

4. Click Submit Assignment.