Sonnet CXCI
Ye laughing gales, that sporting with my fair,The silky tangles of her locks unbraid;And down her breast their golden treasures spread;Then in fresh mazes weave her curling hair,You kiss those bright destructive eyes, that bearThe flaming darts by which my heart has bled;My trembling heart! that oft has fondly stray'dTo seek the nymph, whose eyes such terrors wear.Methinks she's found--but oh! 'tis fancy's cheat!Methinks she's seen--but oh! 'tis love's deceit!Methinks she's near--but truth cries "'tis not so!"Go happy gale, and with my Laura dwell!Go happy stream, and to my Laura tellWhat envied joys in thy clear crystal flow!
Words in this poem
- unbraid v. t.
- To separate the strands of; to undo, as a braid; to unravel; to disentangle. [1st pref. un- + braid.]
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- 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.]
- laura n.
- A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior. C. Kingsley.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet CXCI 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 CXCI, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/sonnet-cxci.html, id L14786.
Form and metre
Sonnet CXCI 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 93%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 21% 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 fairA · unbraidB · spreadB · hairA · bearA · bledB · stray'dB · wearA · cheatC · deceitD · soC · dwellD · tellC · flowD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ye laughing gales, that sporting with my fair, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| The silky tangles of her locks unbraid; | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| And down her breast their golden treasures spread; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Then in fresh mazes weave her curling hair, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| You kiss those bright destructive eyes, that bear | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The flaming darts by which my heart has bled; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| My trembling heart! that oft has fondly stray'd | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To seek the nymph, whose eyes such terrors wear. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Methinks she's found--but oh! 'tis fancy's cheat! | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Methinks she's seen--but oh! 'tis love's deceit! | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Methinks she's near--but truth cries "'tis not so!" | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Go happy gale, and with my Laura dwell! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Go happy stream, and to my Laura tell | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| What envied joys in thy clear crystal flow! | 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.