Students in grades 3 through 12 in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia are invited to submit original sonnets for the annual Shakespeare’s Birthday Sonnet Contest . Winning entries will be read at the Folger's 2009 Shakespeare’s Birthday Open House on Sunday, April 26.
Sonnets may be written on any subject and in any voice, but must follow Shakespearean sonnet form :
An additional competition for best sonnet on a fashion theme reflects this year’s special birthday displays and demonstrations of Elizabethan fashion. Sonnets may reflect sentiments about clothing or fashion and may also explore figurative aspects of human nature, such as “wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve” or how people can wear moods, triumphs, and other characteristics of the human experience.
A panel of judges from the Folger staff will select the top sonnet in each of three categories:
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grades 3-6
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grades 7-9
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grades 10-12.
The overall winner will receive a full set of Folger editions of Shakespeare’s plays.
Winners in each of three age categories will receive a copy of Shakespeare’s sonnets signed by the editors. An additional prize will be given for the best sonnet along the fashion theme.
All winning sonnets will be published on the Folger website.
The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 3 .
Please include name, age, school or home school, grade, and contact information with all sonnet submissions.
Email to yhudson@folger.edu or
Mail (postmarked by April 3) to:
Folger Shakespeare Library
Attn: Folger Poetry
201 East Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
