Although such an assignment is a creative exercise, students noted that it helped them to be better literary critics and analyzers. Several noted that it made them more attentive to the effort and details that go into the composition of a literary work. Others said the composition of a sonnet helped them to remember the form, rhythm, and rhyme scheme of a sonnet.

Submissions were not required to correspond to the sonnet form completely, but students were given the following guidelines:

1.) Try to give your sonnet 14 lines.
2.) Your sonnet does not have to rhyme, but son cider making it rhyme and conform to one of the three main rhyme schemes (i.e., Italian/Petrarchan, English/Shakespearean, or Spenserian) for sonnets.
3.) Your sonnet does not have to be in iambic pentameter or "scan," but consider giving each line a consistent number of syllables or consistent meter.
4.) Consider giving your sonnet an identifiable theme or "conceit"--or even several themes and conceits. (In some of the sonnets we looked at, we have seen the themes of nature, war, and the cosmos.
5.) Your sonnet does not have to be about love.

Students and instructors composed sonnets and shared them with the class.

Below is the sonnet "Ode to an Orchid," written by Jonathan Shelley.

I forget your colors when out of bloom.
Green leaves and stems are all that look at me.
Your once beauty encased in nature’s tombs
Outside the purview of what man can see.
Some have at times called you a fickle plant
Because you died before their very eyes,
Relinquishing the grace that was your stamp
And browning yourself in sickly demise.
But I know that this sunset is a fluke,
A simple cover on your nature true.
For in time you will give this death rebuke
And emerge once again in heaven’s hue.
All the times in which they see certain doom,
For me is mere prelude of your rebloom.

In addition to giving biographical information about Shakespeare, Gina recommended having students render this information into poetry, as she has done here. Writing such poems helps retention, and students can give themselves exposure to language in verse by writing their own poems.

Gina's poem about Shakespeare recalls dedicatory poems written to Shakespeare in the 17th century, such as Ben Jonson's "To The Memory of My Beloved the Author, Mr. William Shakespeare." Thus, such "fun fact" poems about Shakespeare or any author--written before or after students read their works--can function as a catalogue of critical appreciation.

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William Shakespeare was the
Best British writer of all time
His many works are about life,
Love, death, revenge, grief, jealousy,
murder, magic, mystery and crime.
He wrote blockbuster plays
Some include Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet.
He married a lady name Anne Hathaway
Shakespeare wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets.
He never wore a wig or a bonnet.
William Shakespeare lived to the age of 52.
Uniquely he was born and died on the say day too!

Gina herself presented this information through a series of trivia quizzes she gave to the class. In some cases, these quizzes were given at the beginning of the term and thus served as an introduction to Shakespeare's works. In some cases they were given at the end of the term, and thus functioned as review.

In both cases, Gina administered the quiz to the entire class vocally. She would pose a question, which would prompt wild speculation and deliberation from students and instructors alike. Such quizzes were shown to be an effective way to spur discussion--persons in the room were eager to compare notes in hopes of guess the right answer--and also offered an opportunity for students to be a "host" to the class.

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Shakespeare Trivia

1.) Where was Shakespeare born?
Answer: Stratford-upon-Avon

2.) How many times does suicide occur in Shakespeare's plays?
Answer: 13

3.) What was the name of Shakespeare's theatre?
Answer: The Globe

4.) Where is Shakespeare buried?
Answer: Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon

5.) Which of Shakespeare's plays is the shortest?
Answer: The Comedy of Errors

6.) Which of Shakespeare's plays is the longest?
Answer: Hamlet

7.) Shakespeare was born and grew up in what part of England?
Answer: The Midlands

8.) The house where Shakespeare was born stands on what street?
Answer: Henry Street

9.) What were Shakespeare's parents names before they were married?
Answer: John Shakespeare and Mary Arden

10.) What was Shakespeare's father's profession?
Answer: Glove maker

11.) What play is often considered to be the first performed play?
Answer: Henry VI, Part 1

12.) Who is generally regarded as Shakespeare's main rival as a dramatist?
Answer: Christopher Marlowe

13.) What major disaster closed London theaters twice during Shakespeare's career?
Answer: Plague

14.) How many years older than Shakespeare was Shakespeare's wife?
Answer: 8

15.) Shakespeare's character Beatrice appears in which play?
Answer: Much Ado About Nothing