Sonnet 60
Oft with true sighes, oft with uncalled teares,Now with slow words, now with dumbe eloquence,I Stellas eyes assailde, invade her eares,But this at last is her sweete breath’d defence,That who indeede a sound affection beares,So captives to his Saint both soule and sence,That wholie Hers, all selfnes he forbeares.Thence his desire he learnes, his lives course thence,Now since this chast love, hates this love in mee;With chastned minde I needes must shew, that sheeShall quickly me from what she hates remove.O Doctor Cupid, thou for me reply:Driven els to graunt by Angell Sophistry,That I love not, without I leave to love.
Words in this poem
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- 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.]
- sophistry n.
- The art or process of reasoning; logic. [OE. sophistrie, OF. sophisterie.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 60 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 60, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-60.html, id L04816.
Form and metre
Sonnet 60 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 97% 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. 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 ABCBABCBDDED-E tearesA · eloquenceB · earesC · defenceB · bearesA · senceB · forbearesC · thenceB · meeD · sheeD · removeE · replyD · sophistry · loveE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oft with true sighes, oft with uncalled teares, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Now with slow words, now with dumbe eloquence, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| I Stellas eyes assailde, invade her eares, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| But this at last is her sweete breath’d defence, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| That who indeede a sound affection beares, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| So captives to his Saint both soule and sence, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That wholie Hers, all selfnes he forbeares. | 9 | ········· |
| Thence his desire he learnes, his lives course thence, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Now since this chast love, hates this love in mee; | 10 | ·········· |
| With chastned minde I needes must shew, that shee | 10 | ··˘······· |
| Shall quickly me from what she hates remove. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| O Doctor Cupid, thou for me reply: | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Driven els to graunt by Angell Sophistry, | 11 | /˘····/˘/˘˘ |
| That I love not, without I leave to love. | 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.