Sonnet XLVIII
How careful was I when I took my way,Each trifle under truest bars to thrust,That to my use it might unused stayFrom hands of falsehood, in sure wards of trust!But thou, to whom my jewels trifles are,Most worthy comfort, now my greatest grief,Thou best of dearest, and mine only care,Art left the prey of every vulgar thief.Thee have I not lock’d up in any chest,Save where thou art not, though I feel thou art,Within the gentle closure of my breast,From whence at pleasure thou mayst come and part;And even thence thou wilt be stol’n I fear,For truth proves thievish for a prize so dear.
About this text
Sonnet XLVIII 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 XLVIII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-48.html, id L00066.
Form and metre
Sonnet XLVIII 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 92%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 7% 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 wayA · thrustB · stayA · trustB · areC · griefD · careC · thiefD · chestE · artF · breastE · partF · fearG · dearG
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 careful was I when I took my way, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Each trifle under truest bars to thrust, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| That to my use it might unused stay | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| From hands of falsehood, in sure wards of trust! | 10 | ···/······ |
| But thou, to whom my jewels trifles are, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Most worthy comfort, now my greatest grief, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thou best of dearest, and mine only care, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Art left the prey of every vulgar thief. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Thee have I not lock’d up in any chest, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Save where thou art not, though I feel thou art, | 10 | ·········· |
| Within the gentle closure of my breast, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| From whence at pleasure thou mayst come and part; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And even thence thou wilt be stol’n I fear, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For truth proves thievish for a prize so dear. | 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.