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 | ·······/˘· |
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.