Sonnet XXXVIII
How can my Muse want subject to invent,While thou dost breathe, that pour’st into my verseThine own sweet argument, too excellentFor every vulgar paper to rehearse?O! give thyself the thanks, if aught in meWorthy perusal stand against thy sight;For who’s so dumb that cannot write to thee,When thou thyself dost give invention light?Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worthThan those old nine which rhymers invocate;And he that calls on thee, let him bring forthEternal numbers to outlive long date.If my slight Muse do please these curious days,The pain be mine, but thine shall be the praise.
Words in this poem
- invent v. t.
- To come or light upon; to meet; to find. [L. inventus, p. p. of invenire to come upon, to find, invent; pref. in- in + venire to come, akin to E. come: cf. F. inventer. See Come.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- perusal n.
- The act of carefully viewing or examining. Tatler. [From Peruse.]
- invocate v. t.
- To invoke; to call on, or for, in supplication; to implore. [L. invocatus, p. p. of invocare. See Invoke.]
- outlive v. t.
- To live beyond, or longer than; to survive.
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXXVIII 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 XXXVIII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-38.html, id L00056.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXXVIII 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%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 inventA · verseB · excellentA · rehearseB · meC · sightD · theeC · lightD · worthE · invocateF · forthE · dateF · daysG · praiseG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How can my Muse want subject to invent, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| While thou dost breathe, that pour’st into my verse | 10 | ·········· |
| Thine own sweet argument, too excellent | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| For every vulgar paper to rehearse? | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| O! give thyself the thanks, if aught in me | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Worthy perusal stand against thy sight; | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| For who’s so dumb that cannot write to thee, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When thou thyself dost give invention light? | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worth | 10 | ·········· |
| Than those old nine which rhymers invocate; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| And he that calls on thee, let him bring forth | 10 | ·········· |
| Eternal numbers to outlive long date. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/·· |
| If my slight Muse do please these curious days, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The pain be mine, but thine shall be the praise. | 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.