Sonnet 76
Those lookes, whose beames be joy, whose motion is delight,That face whose lecture shewes what perfect Beautie is:That presence which doth give darke hearts a living light,That grace, which Venus weepes that shee her selfe doth misse.That hand, which without touch, holdes more than Atlas might,Those lips, which makes deathes pay a meane prise for a kisse:That skin, whose past-praise hue scornes this poore tearme of whit,Those words which doe sublime the quintessence of blisse.That voice which makes the soule plant himselfe in the eares,That conversation sweet, where such high comforts be:As constru’d in true speech; the name of heaven it beares:Makes me in my best thoughts and quiet judgements see,That in no more but these I might be fully blest:Yet ah, my maiden Muse doth blush to tell the best.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- quintessence n.
- The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 76 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 76, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-76.html, id L04832.
Form and metre
Sonnet 76 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.9 syllables.
See other poems in iambic hexameter.
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 A-ABAB-B-C-CDD delightA · is · lightA · misseB · mightA · kisseB · whit · blisseB · eares · beC · beares · seeC · blestD · bestD
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 hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Those lookes, whose beames be joy, whose motion is delight, | 12 | ·······/˘·˘/ |
| That face whose lecture shewes what perfect Beautie is: | 12 | ···/˘··/···· |
| That presence which doth give darke hearts a living light, | 12 | ·/˘······/˘· |
| That grace, which Venus weepes that shee her selfe doth misse. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| That hand, which without touch, holdes more than Atlas might, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Those lips, which makes deathes pay a meane prise for a kisse: | 12 | ············ |
| That skin, whose past-praise hue scornes this poore tearme of whit, | 12 | ············ |
| Those words which doe sublime the quintessence of blisse. | 12 | ····˘/·˘/˘·· |
| That voice which makes the soule plant himselfe in the eares, | 12 | ············ |
| That conversation sweet, where such high comforts be: | 12 | ··˘/˘····/˘· |
| As constru’d in true speech; the name of heaven it beares: | 12 | ·˘/······/·· |
| Makes me in my best thoughts and quiet judgements see, | 11 | ·······//˘· |
| That in no more but these I might be fully blest: | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Yet ah, my maiden Muse doth blush to tell the best. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
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.