Sonnet 77
Oh how the pleasant ayres of true love beeInflicted by those vapours, which ariseFrom out that noysome gulfe: which gaping liesBetweene the jawes of hellish Jelousey.A Monster, others harmes, selfe misery.Beauties plague, Vertues scurge, succour of lyes:Who his owne joy to his owne heart applyes,And onely cherish doth with injuries:Who since he hath by natures speciall grace,So pearsing pawes as spoyle when they embrace,So nimble feete as stirre though still on thornes,So manie eyes aye seeking their owne woe.So ample eares, that never good newes knowe,Is it not ill that such a divell wants hornes?
Words in this poem
- succour v. t.
- tiono run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve; as, to succor a besieged city. [OE. socouren, OF. sucurre, soucourre, secorre, F. secourir, L. succurrere, succursum, to run under, run to the aid of, help, succor; sub under + currere to run.]
- speciall n.
- A particular. Hammond.
- stirre v. t.
- To change the place of in any manner; to move. [OE. stiren, steren, sturen, AS. styrian; probably akin to D. storen to disturb, G. stören, OHG. storen to scatter, destroy. *166.]
- manie n.
- Mania; insanity. [F. See Mania.]
- divell v. t.
- To rend apart. Sir T. Browne. [L. divellere; dit- = dis- + vellere to pluck.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 77 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 77, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-77.html, id L04833.
Form and metre
Sonnet 77 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 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 -AA--AAABBCDDC bee · ariseA · liesA · jelousey · misery · lyesA · applyesA · injuriesA · graceB · embraceB · thornesC · woeD · knoweD · hornesC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh how the pleasant ayres of true love bee | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Inflicted by those vapours, which arise | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| From out that noysome gulfe: which gaping lies | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Betweene the jawes of hellish Jelousey. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A Monster, others harmes, selfe misery. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Beauties plague, Vertues scurge, succour of lyes: | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| Who his owne joy to his owne heart applyes, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And onely cherish doth with injuries: | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Who since he hath by natures speciall grace, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| So pearsing pawes as spoyle when they embrace, | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| So nimble feete as stirre though still on thornes, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| So manie eyes aye seeking their owne woe. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| So ample eares, that never good newes knowe, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Is it not ill that such a divell wants hornes? | 11 | ··········· |
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.