Sonnet 12

When I do count the clock that tells the time

When I do count the clock that tells the time,

And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;

When I behold the violet past prime,

And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves

Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,

And summer's green all girded up in sheaves

Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,

Then of thy beauty do I question make,

That thou among the wastes of time must go,

Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake

And die as fast as they see others grow;

And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence

Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

The brochure below is being processed by a class of mine (3 LSA). It will contain a wordlist, the poem and its translation. This is the very first step of the text analysis. It allows the students to fully understand the text they are asked to analyze. 

The table below can be used to gather all the elements requested for a simple text analysis. My students from 3 LSA find it easy to use. 

It is composed of 2 columns. The one on the left presents a list of literary elements that are usually contained in poems while the column on the right can easily be filled out by the reader. Little by little the reader get accustomed to constantly go back to the text they are analyzing.

[The following step is the presentation of the analysis through a simple, original text prepared by the reader.]

Resources

LnT suggests

LnT   To learn to recite Shakespeare's sonnet 12: 

      Sonnet 12 read by Sir Patrick Stewart   (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t65ind8zJiw)

LnT   theater330.com displays the reading of the whole collection of Shakespeare's sonnets.

LnT   Ted Talks presents a wonderful immersion in the rhythm of the iambic pentameter thanks to a performance by Akala, entitled Hip-hop & Shakespeare (https://youtu.be/DSbtkLA3GrY)

LnT   Ed.Ted.com provides fantastic lessons. If you want to know more about the iambic pentameter just watch the following video: (https://youtu.be/I5lsuyUNu_4)