Sonnet XCII
'Tween two fond lovers I a lady spied,Virtuous but haughty, and with her that lord,By gods above and men below adored--The sun on this, myself upon that side--Soon as she found herself the sphere deniedOf her bright friend, on my fond eyes she pour'dA flood of life and joy, which hope restoredLess cold to me will be her future pride.Suddenly changed itself to cordial mirthThe jealous fear to which at his first sightSo high a rival in my heart gave birth;As suddenly his sad and rueful plightFrom further scrutiny a small cloud veil'd,So much it ruffled him that then he fail'd.
Words in this poem
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- rueful a.
- Causing one to rue or lament; woeful; mournful; sorrowful.
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XCII 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 XCII, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/sonnet-xcii.html, id L14628.
Form and metre
Sonnet XCII 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 87%). 92% 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 spiedA · lordB · adoredB · sideA · deniedA · pour'dB · restoredB · prideA · mirthC · sightD · birthC · plightD · veil'dC · fail'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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tween two fond lovers I a lady spied, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Virtuous but haughty, and with her that lord, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| By gods above and men below adored-- | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The sun on this, myself upon that side-- | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Soon as she found herself the sphere denied | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Of her bright friend, on my fond eyes she pour'd | 10 | ·········· |
| A flood of life and joy, which hope restored | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Less cold to me will be her future pride. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Suddenly changed itself to cordial mirth | 10 | /˘˘·˘/·/˘· |
| The jealous fear to which at his first sight | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| So high a rival in my heart gave birth; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As suddenly his sad and rueful plight | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| From further scrutiny a small cloud veil'd, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| So much it ruffled him that then he fail'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.