Sonnet 35
What may words say? or what may words not say,Where truth it selfe must speake like flattery?Within what bounds can one his lyking stay,Where Nature doth with infinite agree?What Nestors counsell can my flames allay,Since Reasons selfe doth blow the coles to me?And ah, what hope that hope should once see day,Where Cupid is sworne page to Chastitie;Honour is honoured that thou dost possesseHim as thy slave, and now long needie FameDoth even grow rich, meaning my Stellas name;Wit learnes in thee perfection to expresse,Not thou by praise, but praise in thee is raised,It is a praise, to praise where thou art praised.
Words in this poem
- counsell n.
- Interchange of opinions; mutual advising; consultation. [OE. conc, F. conseil, fr. L. consilium, fr. the root of consulere to consult, of uncertain origin. Cf. Consult, Consul.]
- 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.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 35 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 35, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-35.html, id L04791.
Form and metre
Sonnet 35 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% 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 A-ABABA-CDDCEE sayA · flattery · stayA · agreeB · allayA · meB · dayA · chastitie · possesseC · fameD · nameD · expresseC · raisedE · praisedE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What may words say? or what may words not say, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where truth it selfe must speake like flattery? | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Within what bounds can one his lyking stay, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where Nature doth with infinite agree? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| What Nestors counsell can my flames allay, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Since Reasons selfe doth blow the coles to me? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And ah, what hope that hope should once see day, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where Cupid is sworne page to Chastitie; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Honour is honoured that thou dost possesse | 10 | /˘·/˘···/˘ |
| Him as thy slave, and now long needie Fame | 10 | ·········· |
| Doth even grow rich, meaning my Stellas name; | 10 | ·/··/˘·/˘· |
| Wit learnes in thee perfection to expresse, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Not thou by praise, but praise in thee is raised, | 10 | ·········· |
| It is a praise, to praise where thou art praised. | 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.