Sonnet
Ah, woe is me for pleasure that is vain,Ah, woe is me for glory that is past:Pleasure that bringeth sorrow at the last,Glory that at the last bringeth no gain!So saith the sinking heart; and so againIt shall say till the mighty angel-blastIs blown, making the sun and moon aghastAnd showering down the stars like sudden rain.And evermore men shall go fearfullyBending beneath their weight of heaviness;And ancient men shall lie down wearily,And strong men shall rise up in weariness;Yea, even the young shall answer sighinglySaying one to another: How vain it is!
Words in this poem
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- 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,]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- fearfully adv.
- In a fearful manner.
- heaviness n.
- The state or quality of being heavy in its various senses; weight; sadness; sluggishness; oppression; thickness.
- wearily adv.
- In a weary manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet is in the public domain. This text is taken from Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #16950; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Christina Rossetti, Sonnet, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/sonnet-8.html, id L04323.
Form and metre
Sonnet is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABBAABBA-C-C-- vainA · pastB · lastB · gainA · againA · blastB · aghastB · rainA · fearfully · heavinessC · wearily · wearinessC · sighingly · is
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah, woe is me for pleasure that is vain, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Ah, woe is me for glory that is past: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Pleasure that bringeth sorrow at the last, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Glory that at the last bringeth no gain! | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| So saith the sinking heart; and so again | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| It shall say till the mighty angel-blast | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Is blown, making the sun and moon aghast | 10 | ··/˘····˘/ |
| And showering down the stars like sudden rain. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And evermore men shall go fearfully | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Bending beneath their weight of heaviness; | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| And ancient men shall lie down wearily, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| And strong men shall rise up in weariness; | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Yea, even the young shall answer sighingly | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| Saying one to another: How vain it is! | 11 | /˘··˘/˘···· |
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.