WWW Project: English Literature~ Shakespeare's Sonnets
Advanced Literature, Grades 11-12

Instructions

1) Open a new "Netscape" or "Explorer" window, and go to the website "http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu"

2) Under the heading "Books Online," click on the "authors" link.

3) In the Author box, type in "Shakespeare" and click "Search!"

4) Scroll down the list to "Shakespeare, William: The Sonnets" (about 12 from the bottom), and click on it.

5) Under the heading "Format," click on the "Text" link.

6) Scroll down the page until you see: THE SONNETS by William Shakespeare

7) Find Sonnets XVIII and LXXI, and read them carefully. (It may be helpful to copy them down or print them out.)

8) Answer the following questions on your own sheet of paper: (You can refer back to the sonnets for help.)

Questions

***Questions 1 through 5 refer to Sonnet XVIII. (Remember, there can be more than one correct answer to each question!)

1) What words and phrases are used to convey the theme of nature? Explain your examples.

2) List and explain at least two examples of personification. (Need help with personification? Click HERE.)

3) In the last line, when Shakespeare says, "So long lives this," what do you think he is referring to?

4) Based on the sonnet, give some examples the negative aspects of a summer's day.

5) Rewrite this poem in your own words.

***Questions 6 through 9 refer to Sonnet LXXI.

6) What appears to be the tone of this sonnet? (Need help with tone? Click HERE.)

7) What are the narrator's feelings about the physical world? Find specific words or phrases that explain your answer.

8) Which lines seem to convey a sense of tenderness? Explain.

9) Why do you think the narrator doesn't want his audience to remember him? (Does the last line offer any clues?)