Sonnet 40
Having this days, my horse, my hand, my LaunceGuided so well, that I obtaind the prize,Both by the judgment of the English eyes,And of some sent from that sweet enmie Fraunce,Horsmen my skill in horsmanship advaunce,Towne folke my strength: a daintier Judge appliesHis praise to flight, which from good use doth rise:Some luckie wits, impute it but to chaunce:Others, because from both sides I doe takeMy blood, from them that doe excell in this,Thinke Nature me a man at Armes did make.How farre they shoot awry; the true cause is,Stella lookt on, and from her heavenly face,Sent forth the beames, which made so faire a race.
Words in this poem
- excell v. t.
- To go beyond or surpass in good qualities or laudable deeds; to outdo or outgo, in a good sense. [L. excellere, excelsum; ex out + a root found in culmen height, top; cf. F. exceller. See Culminate, Column.]
- farre n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 40 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 40, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-40.html, id L04796.
Form and metre
Sonnet 40 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 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 ABBAABBAC-C-DD launceA · prizeB · eyesB · fraunceA · advaunceA · appliesB · riseB · chaunceA · takeC · this · makeC · is · faceD · raceD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Having this days, my horse, my hand, my Launce | 10 | /˘········ |
| Guided so well, that I obtaind the prize, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Both by the judgment of the English eyes, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And of some sent from that sweet enmie Fraunce, | 10 | ·········· |
| Horsmen my skill in horsmanship advaunce, | 10 | ·········· |
| Towne folke my strength: a daintier Judge applies | 10 | ········˘/ |
| His praise to flight, which from good use doth rise: | 10 | ·········· |
| Some luckie wits, impute it but to chaunce: | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Others, because from both sides I doe take | 10 | /˘········ |
| My blood, from them that doe excell in this, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Thinke Nature me a man at Armes did make. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| How farre they shoot awry; the true cause is, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Stella lookt on, and from her heavenly face, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Sent forth the beames, which made so faire a race. | 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.