Performing Shakespeare's Sonnets

Aims

This course aims to: 

• teach you to understand the structure of the sonnet and how this helps the approach 
  to performance
   
• teach you to recognise figures of speech and use these with understanding to clarify 
  meaning and mood
   
• help you speak the lines with confident enjoyment and a sense of performance

Content

Shakespeare’s sonnets are written in the same iambic metre as the blank verse in his plays. Being only 14 lines long they are compact and self-contained. The speaking of the sonnets requires the same awareness of the imagery and wordplay as the actor speaking longer speeches in the plays- without having to consider the character in the context of the play. Many people are nervous about speaking Shakespeare aloud and these beautiful poems are a way of making detailed work possible. The sonnets have a sound structure which we will explore as performers, and you will be able to work on a sonnet of your own choice. If you want to memorise your sonnet, please do, but this is by no means compulsory. If there are too many duplicates I will provide an alternative. We will be looking at Shakespeare's use of assonance, alliteration and other figures of speech. All the sonnets are written in the first person and can be expressed imaginatively as an actor would in performance.

Presentation of the course 

Each session will begin with a brief vocal warm up using a different line from a sonnet each day as the stimulus. We will study a different sonnet each day. Please wear comfortable clothing and footwear.

Course sessions

Each day we will start the class by working as a group and looking at one sonnet, which we will share aloud.

1. Sonnet 18: First line: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
    
2. Sonnet 65: Since brass nor stone nor earth nor boundless sea
    
3. Sonnet 104: To me, fair friend, you never can be old
    
4. Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds
    
5. Sonnet 138: When my true love swears that she is made of truth

All of the above sonnets share key themes, including; time passing, sexual insecurity, love 
(of course) and jealousy.

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• you will have a secure understanding of the formal structure of a Shakespeare sonnet
   
• you will be able to perform them with confidence

Required reading

Please bring a copy of the collected sonnets to each class, including the first class.

Shakespeare, William, Shakespeare's Sonnets (Penguin Classics 2015)

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.