Activities for the sonnet

1. Activities

Activity one

Compare - shake - declines – fade – brag – breathe - see

Shall I (1)------------- thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do (2)----------- the 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 (3)----------------,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not (4)-------------
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death (5)---------- thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can (6)----------- or eyes can (7)----------,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.



Activity two:

Read the poem attentively and match the words to their meanings.

Words and phrases Their meanings
Thou art makes you immortal
Temperate verse
Darling Death claim you for his own.
Summer’s lease hath all too short a date you possess
The eye of heaven youth
His gold complexion dimm’d everything beautiful sometime will lose its
beauty
Every fair from fair sometime decline goes behind the clouds
Eternal summer: the sun
Thou owest summer is far too short
Death brag thou wander'st in his shade: beloved
Lines constant
gives life to thee you are

2. Activity three

1- Read the poem again and divide it into four main parts.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the 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.

2- Write the main idea for each of the four parts:

The first quatrain: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The second quatrain: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The third quatrain:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The couplet: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Activity four
1- Read the whole poem again and stress the use of seasons.
2- Answer these questions:
a – Think about seasons, what is the most preferable season in your culture?
b - Is summer viewed negatively or positively?
c- In which season does the nature flourish and look beautiful and lovely?
As a class, discuss the attitude of the poet towards summer season.

writing

In groups of fours, paraphrase the whole poem using simple language.

3. Answer key

Activity one

1- Compare
2- shake
3- declines
4- fade
5- brag
6- breathe
7- see

Activity two

Thou art : you are
Temperate: constant
Darling: beloved
Summer’s lease hath all too short a date: summer is far too short
The eye of heaven: the sun
His gold complexion dimm’d: goes behind the clouds
Every fair from fair sometime decline: everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty.
Eternal summer: youth
Thou owest: you possess
Death brag thou wander'st in his shade: death claim you for his own.
Lines: verse
gives life to thee: makes you immortal