Sonnet CXXXIV
So, now I have confess’d that he is thine,And I my self am mortgag’d to thy will,Myself I’ll forfeit, so that other mineThou wilt restore to be my comfort still:But thou wilt not, nor he will not be free,For thou art covetous, and he is kind;He learn’d but surety-like to write for me,Under that bond that him as fast doth bind.The statute of thy beauty thou wilt take,Thou usurer, that putt’st forth all to use,And sue a friend came debtor for my sake;So him I lose through my unkind abuse.Him have I lost; thou hast both him and me:He pays the whole, and yet am I not free.
Words in this poem
- covetous a.
- Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense. [OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t.]
- usurer n.
- One who lends money and takes interest for it; a money lender. [F. usurier, LL. usurarius. See Usury, and cf. Usurarious.]
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet CXXXIV 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 CXXXIV, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-134.html, id L00152.
Form and metre
Sonnet CXXXIV 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 85%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 7% 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 thineA · willB · mineA · stillB · freeC · kindD · meC · bindD · takeE · useF · sakeE · abuseF · meG · freeG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| So, now I have confess’d that he is thine, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And I my self am mortgag’d to thy will, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Myself I’ll forfeit, so that other mine | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| Thou wilt restore to be my comfort still: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| But thou wilt not, nor he will not be free, | 10 | ·········· |
| For thou art covetous, and he is kind; | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| He learn’d but surety-like to write for me, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Under that bond that him as fast doth bind. | 10 | ·········· |
| The statute of thy beauty thou wilt take, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Thou usurer, that putt’st forth all to use, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| And sue a friend came debtor for my sake; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| So him I lose through my unkind abuse. | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Him have I lost; thou hast both him and me: | 10 | ·········· |
| He pays the whole, and yet am I not free. | 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.