Sonnet 87
Out Traytour absence dar’st thou counsell meeFrom my deare Captainnesse to runne away,Because in brave arraye here marcheth sheeThat to winne mee oft showes a present paye.Is Faith so weake, or is such force in thee?When Sunne is hid, can Starres such beames displaie?Cannot Heavens foode once felt keepe stomacks freeFrom base desire on earthly cares to praie?Tush absence, while thy mistes eclypse that light,My Orphan sense flyes to the inward sight:Where memorie settes foorth the beames of Love,That where before heart lov’d and eyes did see,In heart my sight and Love now coupled be,United powres make eche the stronger prove.
Words in this poem
- counsell n.
- Interchange of opinions; mutual advising; consultation. [OE. conc, F. conseil, fr. L. consilium, fr. the root of consulere to consult, of uncertain origin. Cf. Consult, Consul.]
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- winne v. t.
- To gain by superiority in competition or contest; to obtain by victory over competitors or rivals; as, to win the prize in a gate; to win money; to win a battle, or to win a country. [OE. winnen, AS. winnan to strive, labor, fight, endure; akin to OFries. winna, OS. winnan, D. winnen to win, gain, G. gewinnen, OHG. winnan to strive, struggle,]
- tush interj.
- An exclamation indicating check, rebuke, or contempt; as, tush, tush! do not speak of it.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 87 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 87, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-87.html, id L04843.
Form and metre
Sonnet 87 is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABACACDDEAAE. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 98% 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 ABABACACDDEAAE meeA · awayB · sheeA · payeB · theeA · displaieC · freeA · praieC · lightD · sightD · loveE · seeA · beA · proveE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Out Traytour absence dar’st thou counsell mee | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| From my deare Captainnesse to runne away, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Because in brave arraye here marcheth shee | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That to winne mee oft showes a present paye. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Is Faith so weake, or is such force in thee? | 10 | ·········· |
| When Sunne is hid, can Starres such beames displaie? | 10 | ·········· |
| Cannot Heavens foode once felt keepe stomacks free | 11 | /˘/˘······· |
| From base desire on earthly cares to praie? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Tush absence, while thy mistes eclypse that light, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| My Orphan sense flyes to the inward sight: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Where memorie settes foorth the beames of Love, | 10 | ·········· |
| That where before heart lov’d and eyes did see, | 10 | ·········· |
| In heart my sight and Love now coupled be, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| United powres make eche the stronger prove. | 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.