Sonnet LXXVIII
So oft have I invoked thee for my Muse,And found such fair assistance in my verseAs every alien pen hath got my useAnd under thee their poesy disperse.Thine eyes, that taught the dumb on high to singAnd heavy ignorance aloft to fly,Have added feathers to the learned’s wingAnd given grace a double majesty.Yet be most proud of that which I compile,Whose influence is thine, and born of thee:In others’ works thou dost but mend the style,And arts with thy sweet graces graced be;But thou art all my art, and dost advanceAs high as learning, my rude ignorance.
Words in this poem
- poesy n.
- The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
- compile v. t.
- To put together; to construct; to build. [F. compiler, fr.L. compilare to plunder, pillage; com- + pilare to plunder. See Pill, v. t., Pillage.]
- graced a.
- Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet LXXVIII 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 LXXVIII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-78.html, id L00096.
Form and metre
Sonnet LXXVIII 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 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 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 museA · verseB · useA · disperseB · singC · flyD · wingC · majestyD · compileE · theeF · styleE · beF · advanceG · ignoranceG
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 oft have I invoked thee for my Muse, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And found such fair assistance in my verse | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| As every alien pen hath got my use | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And under thee their poesy disperse. | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Thine eyes, that taught the dumb on high to sing | 10 | ·········· |
| And heavy ignorance aloft to fly, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/·· |
| Have added feathers to the learned’s wing | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| And given grace a double majesty. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Yet be most proud of that which I compile, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Whose influence is thine, and born of thee: | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| In others’ works thou dost but mend the style, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And arts with thy sweet graces graced be; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| But thou art all my art, and dost advance | 10 | ········˘/ |
| As high as learning, my rude ignorance. | 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.