Sonnet XII
When I do count the clock that tells the time,And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;When I behold the violet past prime,And sable curls, all silvered o’er with white;When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves,Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,Then of thy beauty do I question make,That thou among the wastes of time must go,Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsakeAnd die as fast as they see others grow;And nothing ’gainst Time’s scythe can make defenceSave breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.
Words in this poem
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- bier n.
- A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
- bristly a.
- THick set with bristles, or with hairs resembling bristles; rough.
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XII 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 XII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-12.html, id L00030.
Form and metre
Sonnet XII 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 87%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 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 timeA · nightB · primeA · whiteB · leavesC · herdD · sheavesC · beardD · makeE · goF · forsakeE · growF · defenceG · henceG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When I do count the clock that tells the time, | 10 | ·········· |
| And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When I behold the violet past prime, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| And sable curls, all silvered o’er with white; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| When lofty trees I see barren of leaves, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Then of thy beauty do I question make, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| That thou among the wastes of time must go, | 10 | ·········· |
| Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| And die as fast as they see others grow; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And nothing ’gainst Time’s scythe can make defence | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 9
Notes by William J. Rolfe, Shakespeare's Sonnets (New York, 1905), Internet Archive scan
- Line 2 Brave. Beautiful. Cf. 15. 8 below. See also Ham. ii. 2. 312 : "this brave o'erhanging firmament," etc. For hideous night, cf. 5. 6 : "hideous winter."
- Line 3 Violet past prime. Dowden compares Ham. i. 3. 7 : "A violet in the yuuth of primy nature."
- Line 4 Sable curls all silver'd. The quarto has " or siluer'd ; " cor- rected by Malone. The Cambridge ed. notes an anonymous con- jecture, " o'er-silvered with white." Steevens compares Ham. i. 2. 242 : — " It was, as I have seen it in his life, A sable silver'd ; " referring to the Ghost's beard.
- Line 6 Canopy. For the verb, cf. T. N. i. 1. 41, Cymb. ii. 2. 21, etc,
- Line 8 Beard. Cf. M. N. D. ii. 1. 95 : — " the green corn Hath rotted ere his youth attain 'd a beard."
- Line 9 Question make. Consider. Elsewhere it is = doubt ; as in M. of V. i. 1. 156, 184, L. C. 321, etc.
- Line 10 The wastes of Time. The things destroyed by Time.
- Line 11 Do themselves forsake. In dying they forsake their former loveliness.
- Line 14 Save breed, etc. "Except children, whose youth may set the scythe of Time at defiance, and render thy own death less painful" (Malone).
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