Curated OER
Superb Sonnets
Students identify and compare the characteristics of both Italian and English sonnets. They read examples of each, then write an original sonnet in either the Italian or English style.
Pittford Schools
Literary Devices, Techniques, and Elements
What's the difference between a speaker and an author? What's an example of anthropomorphism? Clarify the meanings of literary devices, elements, and techniques with a comprehensive glossary of terms.
Curated OER
10 Things I Hate about Shakespeare
Students look at the works of Shakespeare to describe and explain relationships among some of the different texts. The writing of the learners has the intent of increasing comprehension, interpretation, and critical analysis skills.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Why Shakespeare Loved Iambic Pentameter
Shakespeare sometimes gets a bad rap in high schools for his complex plots and antiquated language. But a quick peek into the rhythm of his words reveals a poet deeply rooted in the way people spoke in his time- and still speak today....
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Iambic Pentameter
This encyclopedia entry for iambic pentameter provides examples of poetry and explanations of the meter's purpose.
Other
University of Northern Iowa: Blank Verse
Very clear and detailed explanation of blank verse, including related terms such as iambic pentameter and other forms of meter in poetry. Also includes a "How to and Examples," section that discusses the difficulties of writing in blank...
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: Meter & Scansion
Handout from the Purdue University writing lab that explains poetic meter and scansion. Explains several terms, including the following: syllabic, accentual, accentual-syllabic, quantitative, scansion, accented, unaccented, poetic foot,...
Other
Western Michigan University: Interactive Quiz on Meter
This 10-question interactive quiz in prosody tests you with lines of poetry in iambic pentameter, trochaic tetrameter, and other meters.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: The Heroic Couplet: Its Rhyme and Reason
Lengthy academic essay that argues that traditional poetry, including the heroic couplet, is still relevant in the modern world. While this is discussed, the history of the heroic couplet is provided. A good definition of the term with...
Rutgers University
Rutgers University: Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms: Heroic Couplets
A short definition of the term Heroic Couplet along with a short example from a piece of poetry from Pope's Essay on Criticism.
Other
Rgs: Rhythm, Meter, and Scansion Made Easy
This page was created by a 5th and 6th-grade teacher "As a quick reference for [his] students when studying rhythm," although older students could easily use it too. The following terms are defined: rhythm, meter, scansion, iamb,...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Shakespeare:blank Verse
This discussion of blank verse is taken from a larger article on Shakespeare and the Globe Theater. It defines the term and discusses its importance in the history of British poetry.
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Literary Term: Heroic Couplet
This site provides a short definition of the term Heroic Couplet along with a short example from a piece of poetry by Pope.
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Literary Term: Blank Verse
This brief site provides a definition of the term blank verse, a short description of its history, and an example of its use from a poem.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: The Craft of Poetry: Structure of the Sonnet
Using a sonnnet grid, students write original Shakespearean sonnets and present them in digital slideshow format.
Other
Cummings Study Guides: How Shakespeare Prepared Manuscripts
Learn many of the elements which Shakespeare used, or took into consideration, as he wrote the original manuscripts of his plays. How did he shape the English language with new words, how did he evoke settings when plays used few or no...
PBS
Pbs: Language Arts: Lesson Plans: Language Arts: Shakespeare's Sonnets
The purpose of this lesson is to help young scholars cope with unfamiliar language in Shakespeare's sonnets and to help them understand and appreciate both what he says and how he says it.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Sounds of the Sonnet
"Sound Experiments" drive this lesson plan. Sonnet analysis is accompanied by readings based on specific emotions. At this website, there are several links full-text sonnets by such authors as Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Longfellow, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Sounds of the Sonnet
This resource presents a lesson in which students learn to study the form, sounds, and meanings of sonnets (particularly those by Shakespeare) in an interesting and interactive way.