Sonnet CVI
Covetous Babylon of wrath divineBy its worst crimes has drain'd the full cup now,And for its future Gods to whom to bowNot Pow'r nor Wisdom ta'en, but Love and Wine.Though hoping reason, I consume and pine,Yet shall her crown deck some new Soldan's brow,Who shall again build up, and we avowOne faith in God, in Rome one head and shrine.Her idols shall be shatter'd, in the dustHer proud towers, enemies of Heaven, be hurl'd,Her wardens into flames and exile thrust,Fair souls and friends of virtue shall the worldPossess in peace; and we shall see it madeAll gold, and fully its old works display'd.
Words in this poem
- covetous a.
- Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense. [OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t.]
- 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,]
- avow v. t.
- To bind, or to devote, by a vow. Wyclif. [OF. avouer, fr. LL. votare to vow, fr. L. votun. See Vote, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet CVI is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, the various hands 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: Petrarch, Sonnet CVI, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/sonnet-cvi.html, id L14657.
Form and metre
Sonnet CVI is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDCDCD, the pattern of the Italian sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other Italian 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 ABBAABBACDCDCD divineA · nowB · bowB · wineA · pineA · browB · avowB · shrineA · dustC · hurl'dD · thrustC · worldD · madeC · display'dD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Covetous Babylon of wrath divine | 10 | /˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| By its worst crimes has drain'd the full cup now, | 10 | ·········· |
| And for its future Gods to whom to bow | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Not Pow'r nor Wisdom ta'en, but Love and Wine. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Though hoping reason, I consume and pine, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Yet shall her crown deck some new Soldan's brow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Who shall again build up, and we avow | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| One faith in God, in Rome one head and shrine. | 10 | ·········· |
| Her idols shall be shatter'd, in the dust | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Her proud towers, enemies of Heaven, be hurl'd, | 10 | ··//˘˘·/·· |
| Her wardens into flames and exile thrust, | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| Fair souls and friends of virtue shall the world | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Possess in peace; and we shall see it made | 10 | ˘/········ |
| All gold, and fully its old works display'd. | 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.