Sonnet 13 O, that you were yourself, but, love, you are
Sonnet 15 When I consider everything that grows
Sonnet 20 A woman's face, with Nature's own hand painted
Sonnet 73 That time of year thou mayest in me behold
Sonnet 87 Farewell: thou art too dear for my possessing,
Sonnet 107 Not mine own fear, nor the prophetic soul
Sonnet 116 Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Sonnet 129 The expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Sonnet 141 In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes,
Sonnet 144 Two loves I have, of comfort and despair

Please choose five of these ten sonnets, and mark the rhyme scheme--
abba
cdcd
efef
ff
For each sonnet, what is the sequence of metaphors? How do these follow the progression of thought? What is the rhetorical and dramatic purpose of the couplet?
 
Now consider the other binding devices--alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, consonance. Howe are these contrived to fit the sonnet's meaning?
 
Are there any irregularities in the rhythm? (iambic pentameter-five feet per line, with each foot consisting of an unstressed beat followed by a stressed one) You may find trochaic, anapestic, or (rarely) dactyllic feet; the succession of two stresses in a row will produce a syncopated effect.
 
What are the effects of the irregularities; that is, how do they embody shifts in meaning?
 
For each sonnet, consider how its themes may reflect sentiments expressed in one of the plays we have read. Does its language resemble that of any of Shakespeare's dramatic characters?
 
What do you think are advantages and disadvantages of the Elizabethan sonnet form (as opposed to the Italian sonnet abababab cdecde, or abbaabba cdcdee)?
 
What seem to be some of Shakespeare's thematic preoccupations in these sonnets? How are these variations on conventional sentiments or poetic themes?