Sonnet 12
Cupid because thou shin’st in Stellas eyes,That from her lookes thy day-nets now scapes free:That those lips swelde so full of thee they be.That her sweet breath makes all thy flames t’arise,That in her brest thy pap well sugred lyes,That her grace gracious makes thy wrongs, that shee,What word so ere shee speakes, perswades for thee:That her cleere voice, lifts thy fame to the skyes.Thou countest Stella thine, like those whose powresHaving got up a breach; (by fighting well)Cry victorie, this faire day all is ours:Oh no, her heart is such a Cytadell.So fortified with wit, stor’d with disdaine:That to winne it, is all the skill and paine.
Words in this poem
- cupid
- The god of love, son of Venus; usually represented as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow. [L.Cupido, fr. cupido desire, desire of love, fr. cupidus. See Cupidity.]
- winne v. t.
- To gain by superiority in competition or contest; to obtain by victory over competitors or rivals; as, to win the prize in a gate; to win money; to win a battle, or to win a country. [OE. winnen, AS. winnan to strive, labor, fight, endure; akin to OFries. winna, OS. winnan, D. winnen to win, gain, G. gewinnen, OHG. winnan to strive, struggle,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 12 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 12, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-12.html, id L04768.
Form and metre
Sonnet 12 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 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 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 ABB-ABBACDCDEE eyesA · freeB · beB · t'arise · lyesA · sheeB · theeB · skyesA · powresC · wellD · oursC · cytadellD · disdaineE · paineE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cupid because thou shin’st in Stellas eyes, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| That from her lookes thy day-nets now scapes free: | 10 | ·········· |
| That those lips swelde so full of thee they be. | 10 | ·········· |
| That her sweet breath makes all thy flames t’arise, | 10 | ·········· |
| That in her brest thy pap well sugred lyes, | 10 | ········˘· |
| That her grace gracious makes thy wrongs, that shee, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What word so ere shee speakes, perswades for thee: | 10 | ·········· |
| That her cleere voice, lifts thy fame to the skyes. | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou countest Stella thine, like those whose powres | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Having got up a breach; (by fighting well) | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Cry victorie, this faire day all is ours: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Oh no, her heart is such a Cytadell. | 10 | ·········· |
| So fortified with wit, stor’d with disdaine: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That to winne it, is all the skill and paine. | 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.