Sonnet 65
And doe I see some cause a hope to feedeOr doth the tedious burthen of long woeIn weakned mindes, quick apprehension breedeOf every Image which may comfort showe.I cannot brag of word, much lesse of deede,Fortune wheels still with me in one sort slowe.My wealth no more, and no whit lesse my neede,Desier, still on stilts of feare doth goe.And yet amids all feares, a hope there isStolne to my hart: since last faire night (nay day)Stellas eyes sent to me the beames of blisse,Looking on mee, while I looke other way:But when mine eyes backe to their heaven did move:They fled with blush, which guiltie seem’d of love:
Words in this poem
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- whit n.
- The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence. [OE. wight, wiht, AS. wiht a creature, a thing. See Wight, and cf. Aught, Naught.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 65 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 65, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-65.html, id L04821.
Form and metre
Sonnet 65 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 9.9 syllables. 29% 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 ABABABAB-C-CDD feedeA · woeB · breedeA · showeB · deedeA · sloweB · needeA · goeB · is · dayC · blisse · wayC · moveD · loveD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| And doe I see some cause a hope to feede | 10 | ·········· |
| Or doth the tedious burthen of long woe | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| In weakned mindes, quick apprehension breede | 10 | ··˘···˘/˘· |
| Of every Image which may comfort showe. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| I cannot brag of word, much lesse of deede, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Fortune wheels still with me in one sort slowe. | 10 | /˘········ |
| My wealth no more, and no whit lesse my neede, | 10 | ·········· |
| Desier, still on stilts of feare doth goe. | 9 | ········· |
| And yet amids all feares, a hope there is | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Stolne to my hart: since last faire night (nay day) | 10 | ·········· |
| Stellas eyes sent to me the beames of blisse, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Looking on mee, while I looke other way: | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| But when mine eyes backe to their heaven did move: | 10 | ·······/·· |
| They fled with blush, which guiltie seem’d of 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.