Sonnet Performance and Paper

English 109: Poetry through Performance

The Performance
On Wednesday, September 31, you will perform a memorized sonnet for the class along with a
brief (three-sentence maximum) introduction to the sonnet that must include mention of the
sonnets authors name and the sonnets title (if there is one).
Excluding any sonnets we have covered extensively in class and sonnets 146 (1), 198 (2), 269
(2), 277 (2), and 278 (2), you may select any sonnet from The Penguin Book of the Sonnet for
your performance.
Your performance grade will be based on the following criteria: dramatic interpretation (actually
activating the performance details youve located in the poem), simple accuracy (remembering
your lines), and composure (eye contact, posture, etc).
In-class, small-group work will help you prepare for your performance. However, you are, of
course, expected to practice outside of class. Be sure to read Memorizing the Poem in Poetry
Slam (50-55) for some ideas about how to remember you poem.
The sonnet performance is worth 10% of your overall course grade.
The Paper
One Wednesday, October 6, you will turn in, at the beginning of class, a short (approximately
900-word, 3-page) paper that will include:
o a very brief (one- or two- paragraph) overview of the sonnet that makes clear the
basic, important matters of the sonnet: speaker, occasion, purpose, meaning,
structural shifts, surprises, etc;
o a more-detailed explanation of three (3) significant features of your performance;
and (hopefully!)
o a strong conclusion that discusses how working to perform the sonnet well helped
you appreciate aspects of the total meaning (the drama, power, extra resonances,
and vital details) of the poem.
Note: What you include in your overview of what matters in the sonnet (the first part of your
paper) should be determined, of course, by what is in the poem, but it should also be determined
by, or aimed at, the goal of revealing information that will make the second part of your paper
clearer and, therefore, easier for you to write. Additionally, remember that you are arguing for
your ideas; thus, you need to support your ideas with evidence. While you might assume that
your reader has some familiarity with your poem, you should not assume that your reader agrees
with everything you say about the poem. You need to write to inform and to persuade.
Your paper grade will be based on the following criteria: accurately understanding the poem and
its important features, accurately locating and deciphering the sonnets important performance
features, forming persuasive argument, and employing proper writing style (see the section
called Writing about Poetry in Sound and Sense).

The sonnet paper is worth 15% of your overall course grade.