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Shakespeare's Sonnets


Lessons and projects by students and teachers on Shakespeare's Sonnets. Though technically part of British Literature, we thought he deserved a spot all his own.

NoSweat Shakespeare - Sonnets

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Shakespeare's Sonnets at eserver

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Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

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Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

A Pilgrimage to Thee: Sonnet 27, an Illuminated Text by Ariella Silverstein-Tapp and and C. Asoynec

an eclipsed moonA peaceful and contemplative examination of Shakespeare's Sonnet 27: "Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed."  It is night, the moon is out, and the Moonlight Sonata  plays in the background.  Done by two students towards the beginning of our creation of Illuminated Text, it is, as one commentator has said, an ideal example to show students the power of what they can do to explicate the text when creating an Illuminated Text.  There is now an Adobe Flash Video version of this Illuminated Text - if you have trouble viewing or hearing sound with the Power Point edition.

Flash Video of the Illuminated Text

Power Point of theIlluminated Text
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Teaching the Sonnets - A general discussion

If you can't think of a more specific topic about teaching Shakespeare's sonnets - this is the place to post.

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An illuminated text on Shakespeare's Sonnet 60 by Beilin & Elaine Ye

 a picture of the sea and beachA student Power Point presentation illuminating Shakespeare's Sonnet #60.  This Illuminated Text was created before the Sonnet Research Project -- and these moving poems helped lay the foundation for that activity.  There is now a Flash Video version - if you have any trouble viewing the  Power Point Illuminated Text.  If you do click on the Power Point edition and if you wish to hear the sound you must use Interent Explorer, on a PC, and be sure to choose Open in Browser, rather than saving it to your disk.

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

Sonnet 97 an Illuminated Poem by Alex Nuttall and Alex Galus

 

    An examination of Shakespeare's Sonnet 97.  This is one of the first Shakespeare Illuminated Texts and it remains one of the best.  We showed it during our Macbeth Day that we have each year in the theater, after doing this a couple of years I found that it was just too much to do along with all of the scenes.  As this is a Power Point Illuminated Text, in order to hear the sound you will have to use Internet Explorer on a PC.

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

Fevered Love - A Flash Illuminated Text on Shakespeare's Sonnet 47 by Carmen Au and Sabrina Britecevich

A Renaissance Doctor with bird maskThis Illuminated Text was created as the end product of a research project where students worked with partners and investigated one particular sonnet.  The result here, for Sonnet 47, is outstanding.  The students focus on Shakespeare's medical terminology and extended metaphor in their explication of his work.  The music, movement, and overall effect are well-thought-out and comprehensive.

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Forsaken Beauty: An Illuminated Text of Shakespeare's Sonnet 12 by Luke Strom & Jordan Oswald.

a dying flower surrounded by live onesThis presentation, created using Microsoft Power Point, makes wonderful use of space and color to make Shakespeare's words "come alive."  The words and letters become trees -- the background changes depending on the tone and meaning of a line -- in short, nothing is wasted and every movement, animation, and image has a relationship the poet's text.  This Illluminated Text has also proven to be one of the most popular on the site.  Also please note that there is now a Video Version of this Illuminated Text if you have had trouble viewing or hearing the Power Point Version.

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

Thy Eternal Summer Shall Not Fade; Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

This is another one of Shakespeare's beautiful poems. The words just flow whenever they're read out loud so hopefully this illuminated text does too. The main colors I used where yellow, orange, and red because the whole poem is a subject being compared to a summer's day. Hope you enjoy!

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

partner1: 
Hannah Watson

The Treasured Key: A Flash Illuminated Text of Shakespeare's Sonnet 52

a jeweled skeleton keyStudents, Eric Jang and Yucong Feng created this outstanding Adobe Flash-based Illuminated Text of Shakespeare's Sonnet 52.  For the discordant music to the choices of animation and movement -- they get everything right.  As has been said earlier, the Illuminated Texts created with Flash show the potential of that medium -- it also forces the students to think about the how and why of every move and every flourish that they create.  Well-do Read more »

So oft have I invoked thee for my Muse - Sonnet 78 - An Illuminated Text by Richard Harris and Nicolette Pawlowski

 a young woman reading A very early illuminated text that broke ground in many ways -- relying on words, rather than pictures, and the very appropriate music that is chosen all contribute to this wonderful presentation of Shakespeare's Sonnet 78.  The creators of this Illuminated Text do a great job of focusing on the meaning of the Bard's words - and use the animation and music to bring those words to life for the viewer.

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 98 - An Illuminated Text by L. Sanchez and K. Woods

 A very heavy image-rich (expect a long download time) examination of Shakespeare's Sonnet 98.  The images, music, and words combine to illuminate the poem in a vibrant, colorful, collage.  When we first started creating these presentations - we had not even thought of doing them on entire works - such as poems - and this was one of the first.

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

The Illuminated Sonnet - A Final Handout

Below you will find a link for a final handout filled with tips -- a checklist and much much more -- for the The Illuminated Sonnet portion of the research paper.  The file is rather large so you will have to be patient with its downloading.  The checklist that I created for this assignment literaly saved me hours of post-turned-in work.  There is so much for students to consider when creating Illluminated Texts that they often forget the most fundamental technical details. 

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

Sonnet 42 - An Illuminated Text by Stacy Niemec and Isabelle Davis

two people jumping and forming a heartAn illuminated text on Sonnet 42 by William Shakespeare.  The students use Power Point to explicate the text of Shakespeare's Words.  The story of a lost love that is regained when the speaker realizes that if she loves him, and he and the speaker are one - than indeed she must love him as well.  As with all Power Point Illuminated Texts you will need to use Internet Explorer and a PC to hear the sound of this presentation.

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

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When you become a member of AwaytoTeach - you join a group of educators, artists, students, and others who are interested in using the actual texts of great literature to bring that literature to life. There is absolutely no cost or obligation - there is no fee - there are no ads. The minute you join you can immediately post on our forums, and search our content. If you want to download lessons, view Illuminated Texts, use Antexts (annotated texts), or listen to audio - you will have to contribute to the site with your ideas, and a little bit of your time. If you upload one original lesson (or post 10 thoughtful comments, add 50 quotes, or contribute in one of the many other ways to earn points) you will be given access to everything on our site. Thanks for being here - and we look forward to seeing you online.

Text to Remember

Crime and remembrance

History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes.

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Measured Text

Do other teacher's field trips have a negative impact on your classes?

* Yes
* No
* I'm not sure

Full text, downloads, and audio available to registered users with 50 points (Letterman).  An uploaded original lesson or Illuminated Text is worth 50 points.

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