Sonnet 91
Be your words made (good sir) of Indean ware,That you allowe them mee by so small rate,Or do you cutted Spartanes imitate,Or do you meane my tender eares to spare?That to my questions you so totall are?When I demaund of Phœnix Stellas state,You say (forsooth) you left her well of lateO God, thinke you that satisfies my care?I would know whether shee did sit or walke.How cloathd: how waited on: sighd shee or smilde:Whereof: with whome: how often did shee talke:With what pastimes, times jorneys shee beguild?If her lips daine to sweeten my poore name?Saie all: and all well said: still say the same.
Words in this poem
- totall a.
- Whole; not divided; entire; full; complete; absolute; as, a total departure from the evidence; a total loss. [F., fr. LL. totalis, fr. L. tolus all,whole. Cf. Factotum, Surtout, Teetotum.]
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 91 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 91, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-91.html, id L04847.
Form and metre
Sonnet 91 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 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 ABBA-BBACDCDEE wareA · rateB · imitateB · spareA · are · stateB · lateB · careA · walkeC · smildeD · talkeC · beguildD · nameE · sameE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Be your words made (good sir) of Indean ware, | 10 | ·········· |
| That you allowe them mee by so small rate, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or do you cutted Spartanes imitate, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Or do you meane my tender eares to spare? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That to my questions you so totall are? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| When I demaund of Phœnix Stellas state, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| You say (forsooth) you left her well of late | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| O God, thinke you that satisfies my care? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I would know whether shee did sit or walke. | 10 | ·········· |
| How cloathd: how waited on: sighd shee or smilde: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Whereof: with whome: how often did shee talke: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With what pastimes, times jorneys shee beguild? | 10 | ··/······· |
| If her lips daine to sweeten my poore name? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Saie all: and all well said: still say the same. | 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.