Finding the best pop sonnets suitable for your needs isnt easy. With hundreds of choices can distract you. Knowing whats bad and whats good can be something of a minefield. In this article, weve done the hard work for you.
Reviews
1. Sonnets: From Dante to the Present (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series)
Description
"A sonnet is a moment's monument," said Dante Gabriel Rossetti in a sonnet about sonnets.The sonnets in this collectionwhether they capture moments of perception, recognition, despair, or celebrationreveal how great an amount of feeling, insight, and experience can be concentrated into a mere fourteen lines.
Here are classics such as Milton's "On His Blindness," Yeats's "Leda and the Swan," and Frost's "The Oven Bird," juxtaposed with the mischievous wit of Rupert Brooke's "Sonnet Reversed," the lyric defiance of Mona Van Duyn's "Caring for Surfaces," and the comic poignancy of Philip Larkin's "To Failure." From the lovelorn laments of Dante and Petrarch to the artful heights of Sidney, Spenser, and Shakespeare, from the masterpieces of Wordsworth and Keats to the innovations of Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens, and James Merrill, the sonnet has proved both versatile and enduring.
This delightful anthology displays the incredible range and power of the verse form that has inspired poets across the centuries.
2. Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favorite Songs
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Quirk BooksDescription
The Bard meets the Backstreet Boys in Pop Sonnets, a collection of 100 classic pop songs reimagined as Shakespearean sonnets. All of your favorite artists are represented in these pages--from Bon Jovi and Green Day to Miley Cyrus, Beyonc, and beyond. Already a smash sensation on the Internet--the Tumblr page has 50,000+ followers--Pop Sonnets has been featured by the A.V. Club, BuzzFeed, and Vanity Fair, among many others. More than half of these pop sonnets are exclusive to this collection and have neverbeen published in any form.3. Thug Notes: A Street-Smart Guide to Classic Literature
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VintageDescription
Sparky Sweets, PhD, and Wisecrack proudly present this outrageously funny, ultra-sharp guide to literature based on the hit online series, Thug Notes. Inside, you'll find hilarious plot breakdowns and masterful analyses of sixteen of literature's most beloved classics, including: Things Fall Apart, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet,The Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Pride and Prejudice,and more!The series Thug Notes has been featured on BET, PBS, and NPR and has been used in hundreds of classrooms around the world. Whether youre a student, teacher, or straight-up literary gangster like Dr. Sweets, Thug Notes has got you covered. You'll certainly never look at literature the same way again.
4. Macbeth #killingit (OMG Shakespeare)
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Random House USA IncDescription
Macbeth, one of the greatest stories ever told . . . in texts?!Imagine: What if that tragic couple, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeares most famous plays!
A prophecy from three witches.
A social-climbing couple committing a murder most foul.
A cover-up that spins way out of control.
<3 and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. ;)
tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, posting photos, checking in at locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens.
A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didnt read.
5. YOLO Juliet (OMG Shakespeare)
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Random House Books for Young ReadersDescription
Romeo and Juliet, one of the greatest love stories ever told . . . in texts?!Imagine: What if those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeares most famous plays!
Two families at war.
A boy and a girl in love.
A secret marriage gone oh-so-wrong.
<3 and h8. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. ;)
tl;dr A Shakespeare play told through its characters texting with emojis, checking in at certain locations, and updating their relationship statuses. The perfect gift for hip theater lovers and teens.
A glossary and cast of characters are included for those who need it. For example: tl;dr means too long; didnt read.
6. William Shakespeare's Star Wars
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Full of feuding royalty, family melodrama, comical fools, and fantastic creatures, Star Wars has always been the most Shakespearean of Hollywood blockbusters.The movie Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope is presented in a manner that Shakespeare himself would recognize, with classic iambic pentameter and Elizabethan-style stage directions.
The William Shakespeare's Star Wars A New Hope Hardcover Book from Quirk Books has 176 pages of fun reading.
Measures about 8 3/10-inches tall x 5 3/5-inches wide.
Ages 14 and up.
Description
Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameterand complete with twenty gorgeous Elizabethan illustrationsWilliam Shakespeares Star Warswill astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! Thisisthe book youre looking for.Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucass epicStar Warsin the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age,Star Warsabounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeares greatest plays.Tis a tale told by fretful droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearsome Stormtroopers, signifying...pretty much everything.
7. Sonnets & Sunspots: "Dr. Research" Baxter and the Bell Science Films
Description
Sonnets & Sunspots tells the story of one of the most beloved popular science series of all time, and the charismatic educator who became an icon to several generations of students. The book is also a fascinating history of popular science programming in television and film from its primitive beginnings to the twenty-first century. Along the way there are entertaining behind the scenes stories of each production and the personalities that were involved with them. Dr. Frank Baxter, a Professor of English Literature at the University of Southern California, became a science hero to millions thanks to his alter-ego, "Dr. Research." Many students even became scientists because of Baxter and the Bell films, some of the most entertaining and informative shows ever made. As the tale unfolds we meet such people as famed Hollywood director Frank Capra, Walt Disney, legendary voice actor June Foray, Eddie Albert, Richard Carlson, movie mogul Jack Warner, James Burke of Connections fame, Carl Sagan of Cosmos, and a score of others. The book also chronicles the story of public television from its earliest beginnings, including the struggles of such pioneering stations as Houston's KUHT and San Francisco's KQED. The volume is illustrated by photographs and art of the period, many of them from the author's own collection. "A fascinating and sometimes humorous look at the early years of science broadcasting. Essential reading if you want to understand how we got here." - James Burke Connections and The Knowledge Web8. Mob Culture: Hidden Histories of the American Gangster Film
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Used Book in Good ConditionDescription
Sinister, swaggering, yet often sympathetic, the figure of the gangster has stolen and murdered its way into the hearts of American cinema audiences. Despite the enduring popularity of the gangster film, however, traditional criticism has focused almost entirely on a few canonical movies such as Little Caesar, Public Enemy, and The Godfather trilogy, resulting in a limited and distorted understanding of this diverse and changing genre.
Mob Culture offers a long-awaited, fresh look at the American gangster film, exposing its hidden histories from the Black Hand gangs of the early twentieth century to The Sopranos. Departing from traditional approaches that have typically focused on the "nature" of the gangster, the editors have collected essays that engage the larger question of how the meaning of criminality has changed over time. Grouped into three thematic sections, the essays examine gangster films through the lens of social, gender, and racial/ethnic issues.
Destined to become a classroom favorite, Mob Culture is an indispensable reference for future work in the genre.