Homework Assignment for Day 3

Your assignment is to pick a Sonnet that we are not working on and convert it into a love/stalker letter using your own words--not Shakespeare's! Post it as a comment. I will allow one swear word in your translation so long as it is starred out with asterisks (*'s).

Here's an example of sonnet 149:

Canst thou, O cruel, say I love thee not

When I against myself with thee partake?

Do I not think on thee when I forgot

Am of myself, all-tyrant, for thy sake?

Who hateth thee that I do call my friend?

On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon?

Nay, if thou lour'st on me, do I not spend

Revenge upon myself with present moan?

What merit do I in myself respect

That is so proud thy service to despise,

When all my best doth worship thy defect,

Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?

But, love, hate on; for now I know thy mind.

Those that can see thou lov'st, and I am blind.

Translation:

Dear Jerk,

You are the WORST. How could you possibly say that I don't love you? Do you have any idea how much I think of you? I think of you and your needs so often that I don't even have time to think of myself and what I need. Remember when you said you hated my friend? Well, now I hate him too--because of YOU. Do you even stop to consider the amount of time I spend hating myself when you say mean **** to me? I love every part of you--even the parts that aren't perfect. But maybe that's the problem--maybe you don't love me because I can't see you for who you really are.

Here are some sonnets that are available: 1-16, 19-45, 48-56, 59-70, 73-143, 145-146, 148, 150-154. You can find all of the sonnets (with some commentary) here. This is practice for tomorrow's project.

Remember, you can take the ideas from a sonnet and make letter seem like it's either from a lover or a stalker. Also--have fun. Check out this dramatic reading of a real break-up letter if you're feeling frustrated.

Eggcorns

Youthamism: A misspelling of the word euphemism. "Youthamism" is what is called an eggcorn--a word that is a misspelling of the original word, but sounds like the word it is trying to reference. An 'eggcorn' is really an 'acorn' with a different spelling.

A euphemism is a more pleasant or cleaner word that is substituted for a dirty word.

Euphemisms aren't just for the youth trying to say something dirty in a nice way, plenty of old people use euphemisms as well. In fact, if your parents knew how many euphemisms Shakespeare used, they probably would try to get him banned from school!

Introduction

Hello Shakespeare Sonnet Lovers!

This is a blog that will be used for another aspect of your project in understanding your sonnets. See later posts for more instructions.