BE A POET. Must be at least four full pages (about 1,000 words). Use Shakespeare’s
sonnet form as your basic guideline. You must do some research on this poetic form and learn
about how it’s set up, what the rhyme scheme is, etc. (typically 14 lines, iambic pentameter –
three quatrains and a final couplet).WRITE an original poem, with a title, about any
topic in the area of love. It can be “love” in any of its forms – love between parent and child;
love of spouse or significant other; love of siblings; love of a grandparent; love of a favorite pet,
love of country, etc. Read and explore several Shakespeare sonnets and model yours after that
style. Think about your theme and how you want to express it with emotional impact. Paint a
picture and create feeling with your words, phrases, rhymes and descriptions. One page is your
poem, with title. One page is a copy of the chosen Shakespeare sonnet, with title. And two full
pages is your response to the Shakespeare sonnet — two pages expressing your thoughts and
feelings about what Shakespeare was trying to express in his sonnet. What is the sonnet about?
Is the language effective? What does it make you think about, or feel? What poetry of today is
similar? Who writes it?