Sonnet LIII
What is your substance, whereof are you made,That millions of strange shadows on you tend?Since every one, hath every one, one shade,And you but one, can every shadow lend.Describe Adonis, and the counterfeitIs poorly imitated after you;On Helen’s cheek all art of beauty set,And you in Grecian tires are painted new:Speak of the spring, and foison of the year,The one doth shadow of your beauty show,The other as your bounty doth appear;And you in every blessed shape we know.In all external grace you have some part,But you like none, none you, for constant heart.
Words in this poem
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- foison n.
- Rich harvest; plenty; abundance. Lowell. [F. foison, fr. L. fusio a pouring, effusion. See Fusion.]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet LIII 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 LIII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-53.html, id L00071.
Form and metre
Sonnet LIII 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 91%). 98% 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 madeA · tendB · shadeA · lendB · counterfeitC · youD · setC · newD · yearE · showF · appearE · knowF · partG · heartG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What is your substance, whereof are you made, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That millions of strange shadows on you tend? | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| Since every one, hath every one, one shade, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And you but one, can every shadow lend. | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Is poorly imitated after you; | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘··· |
| On Helen’s cheek all art of beauty set, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And you in Grecian tires are painted new: | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| Speak of the spring, and foison of the year, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The one doth shadow of your beauty show, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| The other as your bounty doth appear; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And you in every blessed shape we know. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| In all external grace you have some part, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| But you like none, none you, for constant heart. | 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.