Sonnet 17
His mother deere Cupid offended late,Because that Mars grew slacker in her love,With pricking shot he did not throughly moveTo keepe the pace of their first loving state:The boy refusde, for feare of Marses hate;Who threatned stripes, if he his wrath did prove:But she in chafe him from her lap did shove,Brake bowe, brake shafts, where Cupid weeping sate,Till that his Grandam Nature pittying it,Of Stellas browes made him two better bowes:And in her eyes of arrowes infinit.O how for joye he leapes, ô how he crowes;And straight therewith, like wagges new got to play:Falls to shrewde turnes, and I was in his way.
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.]
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- grandam n.
- An old woman; specifically, a grandmother. [F. grande, fem. of grand + dame. See Grand, and Dame.]
- therewith adv.
- With that or this.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 17 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 17, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-17.html, id L04773.
Form and metre
Sonnet 17 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 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 ABCAACBA-D-DEE lateA · loveB · moveC · stateA · hateA · proveC · shoveB · sateA · it · bowesD · infinit · crowesD · playE · wayE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| His mother deere Cupid offended late, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘· |
| Because that Mars grew slacker in her love, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With pricking shot he did not throughly move | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To keepe the pace of their first loving state: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The boy refusde, for feare of Marses hate; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Who threatned stripes, if he his wrath did prove: | 10 | ··˘······· |
| But she in chafe him from her lap did shove, | 10 | ·········· |
| Brake bowe, brake shafts, where Cupid weeping sate, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Till that his Grandam Nature pittying it, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Of Stellas browes made him two better bowes: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And in her eyes of arrowes infinit. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| O how for joye he leapes, ô how he crowes; | 9 | ········· |
| And straight therewith, like wagges new got to play: | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Falls to shrewde turnes, and I was in his way. | 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.