In class I distributed a handout with six sonnets. Here are the links: 15, 18, 29, 55, 116, and 130. For tonight, I'd like you to read through them and focus on the one that you think makes the most sense to you. For the one you choose -- or the one that chooses you -- please prepare a brief statement on the meaning of the octave (first eight lines) and the sestet (final six lines). Remember that the octave tends to introduce an idea and the sestet tends to complicate the idea in some way. In a Shakespearean sonnet, the couplet (two lines) at the very end are -- usually -- particularly important in bringing the theme into focus.
Note: it might help to look up the dictionary definition of a few key words. For example, knowing that "belied" is a synonym for "disguised" will help with the final line of Sonnet 130. The speaker is saying that "false compar[isons]" in poetry don't make the love they describe any more real.
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