Sonnet XXV
In every breast Affection fires, there dwellsA secret consciousness to what degreeThey are themselves belov'd.--We hourly seeTh' involuntary proof, that either quells,Or ought to quell false hopes,--or sets us freeFrom pain'd distrust;--but, O, the misery!Weak Self-Delusion timidly repelsThe lights obtrusive--shrinks from all that tellsUnwelcome truths, and vainly seeks reposeFor startled Fondness, in the opiate balm,Of kind profession, tho', perchance, it flowsTo hush Complaint--O! in Belief's clear calm,Or 'mid the lurid clouds of Doubt, we findLOVE rise the Sun, or Comet of the Mind.
Words in this poem
- hourly a.
- Happening or done every hour; occurring hour by hour; frequent; often repeated; renewed hour by hour; continual.
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
- obtrusive a.
- Disposed to obtrude; inclined to intrude or thrust one's self or one's opinions upon others, or to enter uninvited; forward; pushing; intrusive.
- fondness n.
- The quality or state of being fond; foolishness.
- opiate n.
- Originally, a medicine of a thicker consistence than sirup, prepared with opium. Parr. [From Opium: cf.F. opiat.]
- lurid a.
- Pale yellow; ghastly pale; wan; gloomy; dismal. [L. luridus.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Original sonnets on various subjects; and odes paraphrased from Horace, Project Gutenberg ebook #27663; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anna Seward, Sonnet XXV, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/sonnet-xxv.html, id L20479.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXV is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other English 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG dwellsA · degreeB · seeA · quellsB · freeC · miseryD · repelsC · tellsD · reposeE · balmF · flowsE · calmF · findG · mindG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In every breast Affection fires, there dwells | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| A secret consciousness to what degree | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| They are themselves belov'd.--We hourly see | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| Th' involuntary proof, that either quells, | 10 | ˘/˘·˘··/˘· |
| Or ought to quell false hopes,--or sets us free | 10 | ·········· |
| From pain'd distrust;--but, O, the misery! | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Weak Self-Delusion timidly repels | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The lights obtrusive--shrinks from all that tells | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Unwelcome truths, and vainly seeks repose | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| For startled Fondness, in the opiate balm, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Of kind profession, tho', perchance, it flows | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| To hush Complaint--O! in Belief's clear calm, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Or 'mid the lurid clouds of Doubt, we find | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| LOVE rise the Sun, or Comet of the Mind. | 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.