Sonnet XV
When I consider everything that growsHolds in perfection but a little moment,That this huge stage presenteth nought but showsWhereon the stars in secret influence comment;When I perceive that men as plants increase,Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky,Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,And wear their brave state out of memory;Then the conceit of this inconstant staySets you most rich in youth before my sight,Where wasteful Time debateth with DecayTo change your day of youth to sullied night,And all in war with Time for love of you,As he takes from you, I engraft you new.
Words in this poem
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XV 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 XV, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-15.html, id L00033.
Form and metre
Sonnet XV 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 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 growsA · momentB · showsA · commentB · increaseC · skyD · decreaseC · memoryD · stayE · sightF · decayE · nightF · youG · newG
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 consider everything that grows | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Holds in perfection but a little moment, | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| Whereon the stars in secret influence comment; | 11 | ˘/···/˘/˘/˘ |
| When I perceive that men as plants increase, | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And wear their brave state out of memory; | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Then the conceit of this inconstant stay | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Sets you most rich in youth before my sight, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| To change your day of youth to sullied night, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And all in war with Time for love of you, | 10 | ·········· |
| As he takes from you, I engraft you new. | 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.