The Grief of Phoebus at the Loss of His Love
Nine times already had Latona's sonLook'd from the highest balcony of heavenFor her, who whilom waked his sighs in vain,And sighs as vain now wakes in other breasts;Then seeking wearily, nor knowing whereShe dwelt, or far or near, and why delay'd,He show'd himself to us as one, insaneFor grief, who cannot find some loved lost thing:And thus, for clouds of sorrow held aloof,Saw not the fair face turn, which, if I live,In many a page shall praised and honour'd be,The misery of her loss so changed her mienThat her bright eyes were dimm'd, for once, with tears,Thereon its former gloom the air resumed.
Words in this poem
- whilom adv.
- Formerly; once; of old; erewhile; at times. [AS. hwilum, properly, at times, dative pl. of hwil; akin to G. weiland formerly, OHG. hwilm, See While, n.]
- wearily adv.
- In a weary manner.
- 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,]
- thereon adv.
- On that or this. [AS. . See There, and On.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Grief of Phoebus at the Loss of His Love 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, The Grief of Phoebus at the Loss of His Love, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/the-grief-of-phoebus-at-the-loss-of-his-love.html, id L14529.
Form and metre
The Grief of Phoebus at the Loss of His Love 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 90%). 98% 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 sonA · heavenB · vainB · breastsA · whereA · delay'dB · insaneB · thingA · aloofC · liveD · beC · mienD · tearsC · resumedD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nine times already had Latona's son | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Look'd from the highest balcony of heaven | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| For her, who whilom waked his sighs in vain, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And sighs as vain now wakes in other breasts; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Then seeking wearily, nor knowing where | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| She dwelt, or far or near, and why delay'd, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| He show'd himself to us as one, insane | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| For grief, who cannot find some loved lost thing: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And thus, for clouds of sorrow held aloof, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Saw not the fair face turn, which, if I live, | 10 | ·········· |
| In many a page shall praised and honour'd be, | 10 | ·/········ |
| The misery of her loss so changed her mien | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That her bright eyes were dimm'd, for once, with tears, | 10 | ·········· |
| Thereon its former gloom the air resumed. | 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.