Sonnet 42
Faire eyes, sweet lips, deere hart, that foolish ICould hope by Cupids helpe, on you to pray:Since to himselfe he doth your gifts apply,As his maine force, chiefe sport, and easefull stay.For when he will see who dare him gainsay,Then with those eyes he lookes, loe by and by,Each soule doth at Loves feete his weapons lay,Glad if for her he give them leave to die.When he will play, then in her lips he is,Where blushing red, that Loves selfe them do love,With either lip he doth the other kisseBut when he will for quiets sake removeFrom all the world, her hart is then his roome:Where well he knowes, no man to him can come.
Words in this poem
- easefull a.
- Full of ease; suitable for affording ease or rest; quiet; comfortable; restful.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 42 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 42, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-42.html, id L04798.
Form and metre
Sonnet 42 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 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 ABABBABA-C-C-- iA · prayB · applyA · stayB · gainsayB · byA · layB · dieA · is · loveC · kisse · removeC · roome · come
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Faire eyes, sweet lips, deere hart, that foolish I | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Could hope by Cupids helpe, on you to pray: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Since to himselfe he doth your gifts apply, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| As his maine force, chiefe sport, and easefull stay. | 11 | ··········· |
| For when he will see who dare him gainsay, | 10 | ········/· |
| Then with those eyes he lookes, loe by and by, | 10 | ·········· |
| Each soule doth at Loves feete his weapons lay, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Glad if for her he give them leave to die. | 10 | ·········· |
| When he will play, then in her lips he is, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where blushing red, that Loves selfe them do love, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| With either lip he doth the other kisse | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But when he will for quiets sake remove | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| From all the world, her hart is then his roome: | 10 | ·········· |
| Where well he knowes, no man to him can come. | 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.