Sonnet CXLIII
Lo, as a careful housewife runs to catchOne of her feather’d creatures broke away,Sets down her babe, and makes all swift dispatchIn pursuit of the thing she would have stay;Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase,Cries to catch her whose busy care is bentTo follow that which flies before her face,Not prizing her poor infant’s discontent;So runn’st thou after that which flies from thee,Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind;But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me,And play the mother’s part, kiss me, be kind;So will I pray that thou mayst have thy ‘Will,’If thou turn back and my loud crying still.
Words in this poem
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- babe n.
- An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
- prizing n.
- The application of a lever to move any weighty body, as a cask, anchor, cannon, car, etc. See Prize, n., 5. [See 2d Prize.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet CXLIII 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 CXLIII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-143.html, id L00161.
Form and metre
Sonnet CXLIII 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 84%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 21% 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 catchA · awayB · dispatchA · stayB · chaseC · bentD · faceC · discontentD · theeE · behindF · meE · kindF · willG · stillG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lo, as a careful housewife runs to catch | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| One of her feather’d creatures broke away, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Sets down her babe, and makes all swift dispatch | 10 | ········˘/ |
| In pursuit of the thing she would have stay; | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Cries to catch her whose busy care is bent | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To follow that which flies before her face, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Not prizing her poor infant’s discontent; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| So runn’st thou after that which flies from thee, | 10 | ·········· |
| Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me, | 10 | ·········· |
| And play the mother’s part, kiss me, be kind; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| So will I pray that thou mayst have thy ‘Will,’ | 10 | ·········· |
| If thou turn back and my loud crying still. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
Notes from the edition 3
Notes by William J. Rolfe, Shakespeare's Sonnets (New York, 1905), Internet Archive scan
- Line 4 Pursuit. Accented on the first syllable ; the only instance in S. Cf. pursue in M. of V. iv. 1. 298: " We trifle time ; I pray thee, pursue sentence." Walker gives many examples of pursuit ; as Heywood, Dutchess of Suffolk : "The eager pursuit of our ene- mies ; " Spanish Tragedy : " Thy negligence in pursuit of their deaths ; " Beaumont and Fletcher, Wit at Several Weapons, v. I : " In pursuit of the match, and will enforce her ; " Massinger, Fatal Dowry, ii. 2 : " Forsake the pursuit of this lady's honour," etc.
- Line 8 Not prizing. Not regarding.
- Line 13 Will. " Possibly, as Steevens takes it, Will Shakspere ; but it set- ms as likely, or perhaps more likely, to be Shakspere's friend ' Will' [? W. H.]. The last two lines promise that Shakspere will pray for her success in the chase of the fugitive (Will?), on condi- tion that, if successful, she will turn back to him, Shakspere, her babe" (Dowden). This, in my opinion is clearly the meaning.
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.