Sonnet VI
Then let not winter’s ragged hand deface,In thee thy summer, ere thou be distill’d:Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some placeWith beauty’s treasure ere it be self-kill’d.That use is not forbidden usury,Which happies those that pay the willing loan;That’s for thyself to breed another thee,Or ten times happier, be it ten for one;Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,If ten of thine ten times refigur’d thee:Then what could death do if thou shouldst depart,Leaving thee living in posterity?Be not self-will’d, for thou art much too fairTo be death’s conquest and make worms thine heir.
Words in this poem
- usury n.
- A premium or increase paid, or stipulated to be paid, for a loan, as of money; interest. [OE. usurie, usure, F. usure, L. usura use, usury, interest, fr. uti, p. p. usus, to use. See Use, v. t.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet VI 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 VI, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-6.html, id L00024.
Form and metre
Sonnet VI 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 87%). 96% 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. 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 defaceA · distill'dB · placeA · kill'dB · usuryC · loanD · theeC · oneD · artE · theeF · departE · posterityF · fairG · heirG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Then let not winter’s ragged hand deface, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| In thee thy summer, ere thou be distill’d: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| With beauty’s treasure ere it be self-kill’d. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| That use is not forbidden usury, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Which happies those that pay the willing loan; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| That’s for thyself to breed another thee, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Or ten times happier, be it ten for one; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ten times thyself were happier than thou art, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| If ten of thine ten times refigur’d thee: | 10 | ·········· |
| Then what could death do if thou shouldst depart, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Leaving thee living in posterity? | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Be not self-will’d, for thou art much too fair | 10 | ·········· |
| To be death’s conquest and make worms thine heir. | 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.