Sonnet XXVI
Lord of my love, to whom in vassalageThy merit hath my duty strongly knit,To thee I send this written embassage,To witness duty, not to show my wit:Duty so great, which wit so poor as mineMay make seem bare, in wanting words to show it,But that I hope some good conceit of thineIn thy soul’s thought, all naked, will bestow it:Till whatsoever star that guides my moving,Points on me graciously with fair aspect,And puts apparel on my tatter’d loving,To show me worthy of thy sweet respect:Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee;Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me.
Words in this poem
- vassalage n.
- The state of being a vassal, or feudatory. [OE. vassalage, F. vasselage, LL. vassallaticum.]
- graciously adv.
- In a gracious manner; courteously; benignantly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXVI 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 XXVI, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-26.html, id L00044.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXVI 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 88%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.4 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 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 vassalageA · knitB · embassageA · witB · mineC · itD · thineC · itD · movingE · aspectF · lovingE · respectF · theeG · meG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| To thee I send this written embassage, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| To witness duty, not to show my wit: | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine | 10 | /˘········ |
| May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| But that I hope some good conceit of thine | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| In thy soul’s thought, all naked, will bestow it: | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/· |
| Till whatsoever star that guides my moving, | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Points on me graciously with fair aspect, | 10 | ···/˘˘··/· |
| And puts apparel on my tatter’d loving, | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| To show me worthy of thy sweet respect: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee; | 11 | ··········· |
| Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me. | 11 | ··········· |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 5
Notes by William J. Rolfe, Shakespeare's Sonnets (New York, 1905), Internet Archive scan
- Line 2 My duty strongly knit. Steevens quotes Macb. iii. 1. 15.
- Line 7 Some good conceit. Some happy idea. See on 15. 9 above, and cf. 108. 13 below. Bestow it = give it a place, treasure it up. Cf. C. of E. i. 2. 78, M. of V. ii. 2. 179, etc.
- Line 9 Star. For the astrological allusion, cf. 14. 1 and 25. 1 above.
- Line 10 Aspect. Accented on the last syllable, as regularly in S.
- Line 12 Respect. Regard, consideration. The quarto has "their" for thy, as in 27. 10 below.
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