Sonnet XXVII
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,The dear repose for limbs with travel tir’d;But then begins a journey in my headTo work my mind, when body’s work’s expired:For then my thoughts, from far where I abide,Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,Looking on darkness which the blind do see:Save that my soul’s imaginary sightPresents thy shadow to my sightless view,Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,Makes black night beauteous, and her old face new.Lo! thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind,For thee, and for myself, no quiet find.
Words in this poem
- intend v. t.
- To stretch' to extend; to distend. [OE. entenden to be attentive, F. entendre, fr. L. intendre, intentum, and intensum, to intend, attend, stretch out, extend; pref. in- in + tendere to stretch, s]
- pilgrimage n.
- The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
- sightless a.
- Wanting sight; without sight; blind.
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXVII 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 XXVII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-27.html, id L00045.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXVII 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 90%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% 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 bedA · tir'dB · headA · expiredB · abideC · theeD · wideC · seeD · sightE · viewF · nightE · newF · mindG · findG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed, | 10 | /˘········ |
| The dear repose for limbs with travel tir’d; | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| But then begins a journey in my head | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired: | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| For then my thoughts, from far where I abide, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘˘·· |
| And keep my drooping eyelids open wide, | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| Looking on darkness which the blind do see: | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Save that my soul’s imaginary sight | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘· |
| Presents thy shadow to my sightless view, | 10 | ˘/·/···/˘· |
| Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Makes black night beauteous, and her old face new. | 11 | ···/˘˘····· |
| Lo! thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind, | 10 | ·········· |
| For thee, and for myself, no quiet find. | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
Notes from the edition 8
Notes by William J. Rolfe, Shakespeare's Sonnets (New York, 1905), Internet Archive scan
- Line 3 Head. Dowden omits the comma after this word, thinking that the construction may be "a journey in my head begins to work mv mind."
- Line 4 To work my mind. That is, to set it to work.
- Line 6 Intend. Here Schmidt makes the word = " bend, direct ; " as in M. IV. ii. 1. 188, 1 Hen. IV. iv. 1. 92, A. and C. v. 2. 201, etc.
- Line 7 Drooping. Drowsy, ready to close.
- Line 9 Imaginary. Imaginative. Cf. K. John, iv. 2. 265 : "foul imaginary eyes of blood " (that is, the sanguinary eyes of my im- agination), etc.
- Line 10 Shadow. Image ; as often. Cf. 37. 10, 43. 5, 53. 2, 61. 4, 98. 14, etc.
- Line 11 Like a jewel, etc. Cf. R. and J. i. 5. 47 : — " It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear."
- Line 13 By day my limbs, etc. By day my limbs find no quiet for myself, that is, on account of my travel ; by night my mind finds no quiet for thee, that is, thinking of thee. For the interlaced or "chiastic" construction (a favourite one with S.), cf. fV. T. iii. 2. 164: — " though I with death and with Reward did threaten and encourage him." Cf. also 75. n, 12 below.
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