Sonnet 103
Envious wits what hath beene mine offence,That with such poisoned eare my wits you marke,That to each word, nay sigh of mine you harke,As grudging me my sorrows eloquence?Ah, is it not enough, that I am thence:Thence, so farre thence, that scantly anie sparkeOf comfort dare come to this dungeon darkeWhere rigorous exile lockes up al my sense:But if I by a happie window passe,If I but Starres uppon mine Armour beare,Sicke, thirstie, glad (though but of empty glasse)Your morals note straight my hid meaning there,From out my ribs a whirlewind proves that IDoe Stella love. Fooles, who doth it denie?
Words in this poem
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- offence n.
- The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.]
- farre n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- scantly adv.
- In a scant manner; not fully or sufficiently; narrowly; penuriously.
- dungeon n.
- A close, dark prison, commondonjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons. [OE. donjoun highest tower of a castle, tower, prison, F. donjon tower or platform in the midst of a castle, turret, or closet on the top of a house, a keep of a]
- passe a.
- Past; gone by; hence, past one's prime; worn; faded; as, a passée belle. Ld. Lytton. [F.]
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 103 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sir P.S.: His Astrophel and Stella Wherein the excellence of sweete poesie is concluded, Project Gutenberg ebook #56375; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Sidney, Sonnet 103, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-103.html, id L04859.
Form and metre
Sonnet 103 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABBAABBA-C-C-- offenceA · markeB · harkeB · eloquenceA · thenceA · sparkeB · darkeB · senseA · passe · beareC · glasse · thereC · i · denie
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Envious wits what hath beene mine offence, | 10 | /˘˘·····˘/ |
| That with such poisoned eare my wits you marke, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That to each word, nay sigh of mine you harke, | 10 | ·········· |
| As grudging me my sorrows eloquence? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Ah, is it not enough, that I am thence: | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Thence, so farre thence, that scantly anie sparke | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of comfort dare come to this dungeon darke | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Where rigorous exile lockes up al my sense: | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| But if I by a happie window passe, | 11 | ·······/˘·/ |
| If I but Starres uppon mine Armour beare, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Sicke, thirstie, glad (though but of empty glasse) | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Your morals note straight my hid meaning there, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| From out my ribs a whirlewind proves that I | 11 | ··········· |
| Doe Stella love. Fooles, who doth it denie? | 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.