Sonnet XXVI
Throughout the orient now began to flameThe star of love; while o'er the northern skyThat, which has oft raised Juno's jealousy,Pour'd forth its beauteous scintillating beam:Beside her kindled hearth the housewife dame,Half-dress'd, and slipshod, 'gan her distaff ply:And now the wonted hour of woe drew nigh,That wakes to tears the lover from his dream:When my sweet hope unto my mind appear'd,Not in the custom'd way unto my sight;For grief had bathed my lids, and sleep had weigh'd;Ah me, how changed that form by love endear'd!"Why lose thy fortitude?" methought she said,"These eyes not yet from thee withdraw their light."
Words in this poem
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- slipshod a.
- Wearing shoes or slippers down at the heel.
- distaff n.
- The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand. [OE. distaf, dysestafe, AS. distaef; cf. LG. diesse the bunch of flax on a distaff, and E. dizen. See Staff.]
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
- fortitude n.
- Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXVI 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 XXVI, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/sonnet-xxvi.html, id L14513.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXVI 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 91%). 93% 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. 14% 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 flameA · skyB · jealousyB · beamA · dameA · plyB · nighB · dreamA · appear'dC · sightD · weigh'dC · endear'dD · saidC · lightD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Throughout the orient now began to flame | 11 | ···/˘··˘/·· |
| The star of love; while o'er the northern sky | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That, which has oft raised Juno's jealousy, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Pour'd forth its beauteous scintillating beam: | 11 | ···/˘˘····· |
| Beside her kindled hearth the housewife dame, | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/·· |
| Half-dress'd, and slipshod, 'gan her distaff ply: | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| And now the wonted hour of woe drew nigh, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| That wakes to tears the lover from his dream: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When my sweet hope unto my mind appear'd, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Not in the custom'd way unto my sight; | 10 | ·········· |
| For grief had bathed my lids, and sleep had weigh'd; | 10 | ·········· |
| Ah me, how changed that form by love endear'd! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| "Why lose thy fortitude?" methought she said, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| "These eyes not yet from thee withdraw their light." | 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.