Sonnet LII
So am I as the rich, whose blessed key,Can bring him to his sweet up-locked treasure,The which he will not every hour survey,For blunting the fine point of seldom pleasure.Therefore are feasts so solemn and so rare,Since, seldom coming in that long year set,Like stones of worth they thinly placed are,Or captain jewels in the carcanet.So is the time that keeps you as my chest,Or as the wardrobe which the robe doth hide,To make some special instant special-blest,By new unfolding his imprison’d pride.Blessed are you whose worthiness gives scope,Being had, to triumph; being lacked, to hope.
Words in this poem
- carcanet n.
- A jeweled chain, necklace, or collar. [Also written carkenet and carcant.] [Dim. fr. F. carcan the iron collar or chain of a criminal, a chain of preciousstones, LL. carcannum, fr. Armor. kerchen bosom, neck, kechen collar, fr. kelch ci]
- wardrobe n.
- A room or apartment where clothes are kept, or wearing apparel is stored; a portable closet for hanging up clothes. [OE. warderobe, OF. warderobe, F. garderobe; of German origin. See Ward, v. t., and Robe.]
- worthiness n.
- The quality or state of being worthy; desert; merit; excellence; dignity; virtue; worth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet LII 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 LII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-52.html, id L00070.
Form and metre
Sonnet LII 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%). 94% 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.
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 keyA · treasureB · surveyA · pleasureB · rareC · setD · areC · carcanetD · chestE · hideF · blestE · prideF · scopeG · hopeG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| So am I as the rich, whose blessed key, | 10 | ········˘· |
| Can bring him to his sweet up-locked treasure, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| The which he will not every hour survey, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘/ |
| For blunting the fine point of seldom pleasure. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Therefore are feasts so solemn and so rare, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Since, seldom coming in that long year set, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Like stones of worth they thinly placed are, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| Or captain jewels in the carcanet. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| So is the time that keeps you as my chest, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or as the wardrobe which the robe doth hide, | 10 | ···/······ |
| To make some special instant special-blest, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| By new unfolding his imprison’d pride. | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Blessed are you whose worthiness gives scope, | 10 | ·˘···/˘˘·· |
| Being had, to triumph; being lacked, to hope. | 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.