Sonnet 93
Greefe find the words, for thou hast made my braineSo darke with mistie vapours which ariseFrom out thy heavie mould, that inbent eyesCan scarce discerne the shape of mine owne paine:Do thou then (for thou canst) do thou complaineFor my poore soule which now that sicknes tries,Which even to sense, sense of it selfe denies.Though harbengers of death lodge there his traine,Or if the love of plaint yet mind forbeares,As of a Caitife worthie so to dye;Yet waye thy selfe and wayle in causefull teares:That though in wretchednes thy life doth lie,Yet growest more wretched than thy nature beares:By being plast in such a wretch as I.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- plaint n.
- Audible expression of sorrow; lamentation; complaint; hence, a mournful song; a lament. Chaucer."The Psalmist's mournful plaint." [OE. plainte, pleynte, F. plainte, fr. L. plangere, planctum (plancta, fem. p.p.), to beat, beat the breast, lament. Cf. Complain, Plague, Plangent.]
- causefull n.
- Having a cause.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 93 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 93, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-93.html, id L04849.
Form and metre
Sonnet 93 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 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 ABBAABBA-CDCDC braineA · ariseB · eyesB · paineA · complaineA · triesB · deniesB · traineA · forbeares · dyeC · tearesD · lieC · bearesD · iC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Greefe find the words, for thou hast made my braine | 10 | ·········· |
| So darke with mistie vapours which arise | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| From out thy heavie mould, that inbent eyes | 10 | ·········· |
| Can scarce discerne the shape of mine owne paine: | 10 | ·········· |
| Do thou then (for thou canst) do thou complaine | 10 | ·········· |
| For my poore soule which now that sicknes tries, | 9 | ········· |
| Which even to sense, sense of it selfe denies. | 10 | ·/······˘/ |
| Though harbengers of death lodge there his traine, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or if the love of plaint yet mind forbeares, | 10 | ·········· |
| As of a Caitife worthie so to dye; | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet waye thy selfe and wayle in causefull teares: | 12 | ············ |
| That though in wretchednes thy life doth lie, | 9 | ········· |
| Yet growest more wretched than thy nature beares: | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| By being plast in such a wretch as I. | 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.