Sonnet 37
This night while sleepe begins, with heavie wingsTo close mine eyes, and the unbitted thoughtDoth fall to stray, and my chiefe powers are broughtTo leave the scepter of all subject things,The first that straight my fancies errour bringsUnto my minde, is Stellas Image, wroughtBy Loves owne selfe, but with so curious draught,That she me thinkes not onely shines but sings:I start, looke, harke, but what inclos’d up senceWas helde in open sence it flyes away,Leaving me nought but wayling eloquence.I seeing Better sights in sighes decay,Conclude a new, and woed Sleepe againe,But him her hoast that unkind guest had slaine.
Words in this poem
- errour n.
- A wandering; a roving or irregular course. [OF. error, errur, F. erreur, L. error, fr. errare to err. See Err.]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- conclude v. t.
- To shut up; to inclose. [L. concludere, conclusum; con- + claudere to shut. See Close, v. t.]
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 37 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 37, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-37.html, id L04793.
Form and metre
Sonnet 37 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% 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-A-C-CDD wingsA · thoughtB · broughtB · thingsA · bringsA · wroughtB · draught · singsA · sence · awayC · eloquence · decayC · againeD · slaineD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| This night while sleepe begins, with heavie wings | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| To close mine eyes, and the unbitted thought | 10 | ·········· |
| Doth fall to stray, and my chiefe powers are brought | 10 | ·······/·· |
| To leave the scepter of all subject things, | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| The first that straight my fancies errour brings | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Unto my minde, is Stellas Image, wrought | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| By Loves owne selfe, but with so curious draught, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That she me thinkes not onely shines but sings: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I start, looke, harke, but what inclos’d up sence | 10 | ·········· |
| Was helde in open sence it flyes away, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Leaving me nought but wayling eloquence. | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| I seeing Better sights in sighes decay, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Conclude a new, and woed Sleepe againe, | 9 | ˘/······· |
| But him her hoast that unkind guest had slaine. | 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.