Sonnet: On a Stolen Kiss
Now gentle sleep hath closed up those eyes,Which waking kept my boldest thoughts in awe,And free access unto that sweet lip liesFrom whence I long the rosy breath to draw.Methinks no wrong it were if I should steal,From those two melting rubies, one poor kiss.None sees the theft that would the thief reveal,Nor rob I her of aught which she can miss.Nay, should I twenty kisses take away,There would be little sign I had done so.Why then should I this robbery delay?Oh, she may wake, and therewith angry grow.Well, if she do, I'll back restore that one,And twenty hundred thousand more for loan.
Words in this poem
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- therewith adv.
- With that or this.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet: On a Stolen Kiss is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pastoral Poems by Nicholas Breton, Selected Poetry by George Wither, and Pastoral Poetry by William Browne (of Tavistock), Project Gutenberg ebook #22001; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Nicholas Breton, Sonnet: On a Stolen Kiss, in Pastoral Poems and Selected Poetry (1597–1604), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22001, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/breton-poems/sonnet-on-a-stolen-kiss.html, id L08845.
Form and metre
Sonnet: On a Stolen Kiss is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCDCDEFEF-- eyesA · aweB · liesA · drawB · stealC · kissD · revealC · missD · awayE · soF · delayE · growF · one · loan
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Now gentle sleep hath closed up those eyes, | 10 | ·/˘···˘··· |
| Which waking kept my boldest thoughts in awe, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And free access unto that sweet lip lies | 10 | ··/······· |
| From whence I long the rosy breath to draw. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Methinks no wrong it were if I should steal, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| From those two melting rubies, one poor kiss. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| None sees the theft that would the thief reveal, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Nor rob I her of aught which she can miss. | 10 | ·········· |
| Nay, should I twenty kisses take away, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| There would be little sign I had done so. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Why then should I this robbery delay? | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Oh, she may wake, and therewith angry grow. | 10 | ·····˘//˘· |
| Well, if she do, I'll back restore that one, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| And twenty hundred thousand more for loan. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.