Love's Servitude
He who is bound by some great benefit,As to be raised from death to life again,How shall he recompense that gift, or gainFreedom from servitude so infinite?Yet if 'twere possible to pay the debt,He'd lose that kindness which we entertainFor those who serve us well; since it is plainThat kindness needs some boon to quicken it.Wherefore, O lady, to maintain thy grace,So far above my fortune, what I bringIs rather thanklessness than courtesy:For if both met as equals face to face,She whom I love could not be called my king;--There is no lordship in equality.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Love's Servitude is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, the John Addington Symonds 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: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Love's Servitude, in Sonnets (1878), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/michelangelo-sonnets/love-s-servitude.html, id L15179.
Form and metre
Love's Servitude is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 ABBAABBACD-CD- benefitA · againB · gainB · infiniteA · debtA · entertainB · plainB · itA · graceC · bringD · courtesy · faceC · kingD · equality
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 |
|---|---|---|
| He who is bound by some great benefit, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| As to be raised from death to life again, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| How shall he recompense that gift, or gain | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Freedom from servitude so infinite? | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Yet if 'twere possible to pay the debt, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| He'd lose that kindness which we entertain | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| For those who serve us well; since it is plain | 10 | ·········· |
| That kindness needs some boon to quicken it. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Wherefore, O lady, to maintain thy grace, | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/·· |
| So far above my fortune, what I bring | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Is rather thanklessness than courtesy: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| For if both met as equals face to face, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| She whom I love could not be called my king;-- | 10 | ·········· |
| There is no lordship in equality. | 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.