Sonnet 11
In truth oh Love: with what a boyish kindeThou doost proceede, in thy most serious waies;That when the heaven to thee his best displaies,Yet of that best thou leav’st the best behinde.That like a Childe that some faire booke doth findeWith gilden leaves of colloured Velom, playesOr at the most on some faire picture stares,But never heedes the fruite of Writers minde.So when thou sawest in Natures cabinet,Stella, thou straight lokest babies in her eyes:In her chekes pit, thou didst thy pitfall set,And in her brest bo-peepe or touching lyes,Playing and shining in each outward part:But foole seekst not to get into her hart.
Words in this poem
- boyish a.
- Resembling a boy in a manners or opinions; belonging to a boy; childish; trifling; puerile.
- childe n.
- A cognomen formerly prefixed to his name by the oldest son, until he succeeded to his ancestral titles, or was knighted; as, Childe Roland.
- gilden a.
- Gilded. Holland.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- pitfall n.
- A pit deceitfully covered to entrap wild beasts or men; a trap of any kind. Sir T. North.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 11 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 11, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-11.html, id L04767.
Form and metre
Sonnet 11 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 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 ABBAAB-ACDCDEE kindeA · waiesB · displaiesB · behindeA · findeA · playesB · stares · mindeA · cabinetC · eyesD · setC · lyesD · partE · hartE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In truth oh Love: with what a boyish kinde | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thou doost proceede, in thy most serious waies; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That when the heaven to thee his best displaies, | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
| Yet of that best thou leav’st the best behinde. | 10 | ·········· |
| That like a Childe that some faire booke doth finde | 10 | ·········· |
| With gilden leaves of colloured Velom, playes | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Or at the most on some faire picture stares, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But never heedes the fruite of Writers minde. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| So when thou sawest in Natures cabinet, | 11 | ······/˘/˘˘ |
| Stella, thou straight lokest babies in her eyes: | 11 | /˘····/˘··· |
| In her chekes pit, thou didst thy pitfall set, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| And in her brest bo-peepe or touching lyes, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Playing and shining in each outward part: | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| But foole seekst not to get into her hart. | 11 | ··········· |
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.