Sonnet XXV
Had I e'er thought that to the world so dearThe echo of my sighs would be in rhyme,I would have made them in my sorrow's primeRarer in style, in number more appear.Since she is dead my muse who prompted here,First in my thoughts and feelings at all time,All power is lost of tender or sublimeMy rough dark verse to render soft and clear.And certes, my sole study and desireWas but--I knew not how--in those long yearsTo unburthen my sad heart, not fame acquire.I wept, but wish'd no honour in my tears.Fain would I now taste joy; but that high fair,Silent and weary, calls me to her there.
Words in this poem
- certes adv.
- Certainly; in truth; verily. [F. certes, for à certes, fr. L. certus. See Certain.]
- unburthen v. t.
- To unburden; to unload. [1st pref. un- + burthen.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXV 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 XXV, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/sonnet-xxv.html, id L14880.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXV 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 84%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 dearA · rhymeB · primeB · appearA · hereA · timeB · sublimeB · clearA · desireC · yearsD · acquireC · tearsD · fairC · thereD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Had I e'er thought that to the world so dear | 10 | ·········· |
| The echo of my sighs would be in rhyme, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I would have made them in my sorrow's prime | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Rarer in style, in number more appear. | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| Since she is dead my muse who prompted here, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| First in my thoughts and feelings at all time, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| All power is lost of tender or sublime | 10 | ·/···/˘·˘/ |
| My rough dark verse to render soft and clear. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And certes, my sole study and desire | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Was but--I knew not how--in those long years | 10 | ·········· |
| To unburthen my sad heart, not fame acquire. | 11 | ·˘/˘·····˘/ |
| I wept, but wish'd no honour in my tears. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fain would I now taste joy; but that high fair, | 10 | ·········· |
| Silent and weary, calls me to her there. | 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.