Sonnet CXIII
Since I left you, mine eye is in my mind;And that which governs me to go aboutDoth part his function and is partly blind,Seems seeing, but effectually is out;For it no form delivers to the heartOf bird, of flower, or shape which it doth latch:Of his quick objects hath the mind no part,Nor his own vision holds what it doth catch;For if it see the rud’st or gentlest sight,The most sweet favour or deformed’st creature,The mountain or the sea, the day or night:The crow, or dove, it shapes them to your feature.Incapable of more, replete with you,My most true mind thus maketh mine untrue.
Words in this poem
- effectually adv.
- With effect; efficaciously.
- latch v. t.
- To smear; to anoint. [Cf. F. lécher to lick (of German origin). Cf. Lick.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- replete a.
- Filled again; completely filled; full; charged; abounding. [L. repletus, p. p. of replere to fill again, fill up; pref. re- re- + plere to fill, akin to plenus full: cf. F. replet corpulent. See Plenty, Replenish.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet CXIII is in the public domain. This text is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #1041; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Shakespeare, Sonnet CXIII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-113.html, id L00131.
Form and metre
Sonnet CXIII 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 82%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 mindA · aboutB · blindA · outB · heartC · latchD · partC · catchD · sightE · creatureF · nightE · featureF · youG · untrueG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Since I left you, mine eye is in my mind; | 10 | ·········· |
| And that which governs me to go about | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Doth part his function and is partly blind, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Seems seeing, but effectually is out; | 10 | ·/·˘/˘˘˘·· |
| For it no form delivers to the heart | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Of bird, of flower, or shape which it doth latch: | 10 | ···/······ |
| Of his quick objects hath the mind no part, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Nor his own vision holds what it doth catch; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For if it see the rud’st or gentlest sight, | 11 | ·····/˘·/˘· |
| The most sweet favour or deformed’st creature, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| The mountain or the sea, the day or night: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The crow, or dove, it shapes them to your feature. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Incapable of more, replete with you, | 10 | ˘/˘˘··˘/·· |
| My most true mind thus maketh mine untrue. | 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.