Review by Amanda Bindel, Common Sense Education | Updated January 2015
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The Sonnets, by Shakespeare

Get it now
  • Download on Google Play
  • Download on Amazon

Search, read, and listen to free library of Shakespeare's sonnets

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • English Language Arts
Skills
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
7–12
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (2 Reviews)
Price:  Free
Platforms:  Android

Take a look inside

5 images
Scroll through one sonnet at a time, reading or listening to it read aloud.
Videos feature works of art alongside a sonnet read aloud.
Keyword or phrase searches make finding sonnets easy.
Share sonnets with friends via email or other apps.
Find sonnets by first line index.

Pros: You can search sonnets by word or phrase.

Cons: No vocabulary, analysis, or annotation tools available.

Bottom Line: More resources would be nice, but easy access to sonnets is quite handy.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers could use The Sonnets, by Shakespeare as they would a textbook printing of a sonnet or a photocopied version, saving space and paper. They could also use the share feature to share an individual sonnet with a class via email or other social media without requiring every student to download the full app. The search function may be especially handy for teachers who need to find a sonnet with a specific phrasing or theme to pair with another literary piece. Classes likely won't want to listen to the same computer-generated voice read every sonnet, but the inflection is well done, so a few readings would be worthwhile.

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Standards:

The Sonnets, by Shakespeare is a searchable compilation of all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets. The free app opens with a simple screen with three choices: Read, Lookup, or Videos. The Read mode offers each sonnet, starting with Sonnet 1, to read, hear read aloud, or share (via email or social media). Kid swipe to turn the virtual page to the next sonnet. Lookup includes an index of all the sonnets in order, with first lines listed. The search function uses keywords to search all the sonnets. The Videos section includes a dramatic reading of the poem. Some videos feature artwork that complements the poem, while others just show the words.

The interface is elegant -- including just the sonnets -- with the modern convenience of searchable text. The voice reading aloud is pleasant, though a male voice reads everything. The sonnets alone are wealth of information, but a dictionary or commentary function to help kids make sense of Shakespearean language or explanations of the literary devices would be a nice addition. Overall, this is a helpful reference tool, but more connections to the wealth of Shakespearean scholarship and references online would make this an even more powerful gateway to engaging with Shakespeare's language.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Poems are read aloud by a computer-generated voice that is suprisingly lovely, but all of the sonnets are read by the same voice.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

No dictionary, analysis, or commentary is included. The app serves as a searchable ebook of sonnets.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Kids can read the sonnets themselves or have them read aloud.

Common Sense Reviewer
Amanda Bindel Classroom teacher
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Reading Literature

  • RL.7.4

    Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

  • RL.7.5

    Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.

  • RL.7.10

    By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

  • RL.8.4

    Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

  • RL.8.5

    Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.

  • RL.8.10

    By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

  • RL.9-10.4

    Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

  • RL.9-10.5

    Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

  • RL.9-10.10

    By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

  • RL.11-12.4

    Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

  • RL.11-12.5

    Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

  • RL.11-12.6

    Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).

  • RL.11-12.10

    By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 2 reviews) (2 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Tracey W. , Media specialist/librarian
Media specialist/librarian
P.S. Is 54
Bronx, NY
Singing Through Shakespeare
The Sonnets by Shakespeare app is the perfect tool to stimulate more thorough understanding of Shakespeare in the classroom. This app allows the user to search sonnets by first line index, key words or sonnet by sonnet. Students can read sonnets on their own, or listen to them read aloud, which is especially helpful for English language learners, low level literacy or special needs populations. Videos and visuals of artwork play as the sonnet is read aloud. This reinforces comprehension and expands the student's vocabulary. One particularly nice feature is the app has a share button that allows users to share the sonnets with other users through email or social media. The computer generated voice makes good use of intonation and it allows students to work independently or in small groups. What would make the app even handier would be to have a modern day translation in teenage slang and lingo.Teachers can save time and use this app to pair with a nonfiction text in order to prepare students for ELA exams.
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