Sonnet XXVIII
The edge of the green wave whitely doth hissUpon the wetted sand. I look, yet dream.Surely reality cannot be this!Somehow, somewhere this surely doth but seem!The sky, the sea, this great extent disclosedOf outward joy, this bulk of life we feel,Is not something, but something interposed.Only what in this is not this is real.If this be to have sense, if to be awakeBe but to see this bright, great sleep of things,For the rarer potion mine own dreams I’ll takeAnd for truth commune with imaginings,Holding a dream too bitter, a too fair curse,This common sleep of men, the universe.
Words in this poem
- whitely a.
- Like, or coming near to, white.
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- commune n.
- The commonalty; the common people. [F., fr. commun. See Common.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXVIII is in the public domain. This text is taken from 35 Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #19978; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Fernando Pessoa, Sonnet XXVIII, in 35 Sonnets (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19978, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pessoa-35-sonnets/sonnet-xxviii.html, id L23657.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXVIII is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See other English sonnets, 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG hissA · dreamB · thisA · seemB · disclosedC · feelD · interposedC · realD · awakeE · thingsF · takeE · imaginingsF · curseG · universeG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The edge of the green wave whitely doth hiss | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Upon the wetted sand. I look, yet dream. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Surely reality cannot be this! | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| Somehow, somewhere this surely doth but seem! | 10 | /·/··/˘··· |
| The sky, the sea, this great extent disclosed | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Of outward joy, this bulk of life we feel, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Is not something, but something interposed. | 10 | ··/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Only what in this is not this is real. | 10 | /˘········ |
| If this be to have sense, if to be awake | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Be but to see this bright, great sleep of things, | 10 | ·········· |
| For the rarer potion mine own dreams I’ll take | 11 | ··/˘/˘····· |
| And for truth commune with imaginings, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Holding a dream too bitter, a too fair curse, | 11 | /˘···/˘···· |
| This common sleep of men, the universe. | 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.