Sonnet I
When I sit down to contemplate my case,And to review the stages of the way,I find from where my steps went first astray,They might have lost me in a darker maze:But when these memories pass, around I gaze,And wonder whence could come a doom so dark;I know I die, and suffer more to markMy care conclude with my concluding race.Yes, die I will, and so my spirit freeFrom her who well will know to' undo and slay meIf so she wishes,--such her wish will be,For since my own will does to death betray me,Hers, which is less my friend, must compass tooMy death--if not, what is it she will do?
Words in this poem
- contemplate v. t.
- To look at on all sides or in all its bearings; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study. [L. contemplatus, p.p. of contemplari to contemplate; con- + templum a space for observation marked out by the augur. See Temple.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- maze n.
- A wild fancy; a confused notion. [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg. masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate, chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw.]
- conclude v. t.
- To shut up; to inclose. [L. concludere, conclusum; con- + claudere to shut. See Close, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet I is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of Garcilasso de la Vega, Project Gutenberg ebook #49410, the J. H. Wiffen translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Garcilaso de la Vega, Sonnet I, in The Works of Garcilasso de la Vega (1823), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49410, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/garcilaso-works/sonnet-i.html, id L18704.
Form and metre
Sonnet I is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 ABBCCDDAEEEEFF caseA · wayB · astrayB · mazeC · gazeC · darkD · markD · raceA · freeE · meE · beE · meE · tooF · doF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When I sit down to contemplate my case, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And to review the stages of the way, | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| I find from where my steps went first astray, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| They might have lost me in a darker maze: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But when these memories pass, around I gaze, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And wonder whence could come a doom so dark; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I know I die, and suffer more to mark | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My care conclude with my concluding race. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Yes, die I will, and so my spirit free | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From her who well will know to' undo and slay me | 12 | ·······˘/··· |
| If so she wishes,--such her wish will be, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For since my own will does to death betray me, | 11 | ········˘/· |
| Hers, which is less my friend, must compass too | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| My death--if not, what is it she will do? | 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.