Sonnet XCI
Some glory in their birth, some in their skill,Some in their wealth, some in their body’s force,Some in their garments though new-fangled ill;Some in their hawks and hounds, some in their horse;And every humour hath his adjunct pleasure,Wherein it finds a joy above the rest:But these particulars are not my measure,All these I better in one general best.Thy love is better than high birth to me,Richer than wealth, prouder than garments’ costs,Of more delight than hawks and horses be;And having thee, of all men’s pride I boast:Wretched in this alone, that thou mayst takeAll this away, and me most wretched make.
Words in this poem
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XCI 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 XCI, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-91.html, id L00109.
Form and metre
Sonnet XCI 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%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 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 skillA · forceB · illA · horseB · pleasureC · restD · measureC · bestD · meE · costsF · beE · boastF · takeG · makeG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Some glory in their birth, some in their skill, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Some in their wealth, some in their body’s force, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Some in their garments though new-fangled ill; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Some in their hawks and hounds, some in their horse; | 10 | ·········· |
| And every humour hath his adjunct pleasure, | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/·/˘ |
| Wherein it finds a joy above the rest: | 10 | ·········· |
| But these particulars are not my measure, | 11 | ··˘/˘˘···/˘ |
| All these I better in one general best. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thy love is better than high birth to me, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Richer than wealth, prouder than garments’ costs, | 10 | /˘··/˘·/˘· |
| Of more delight than hawks and horses be; | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| And having thee, of all men’s pride I boast: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Wretched in this alone, that thou mayst take | 10 | /˘··˘/···· |
| All this away, and me most wretched make. | 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.