Analysis of Sonnet 19: Devouring Time blunt thou the lion's paws

William Shakespeare 1564 (Stratford-upon-Avon) – 1616 (Stratford-upon-Avon)



Devouring Time blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood,
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,
And burn the long-lived phoenix, in her blood,
Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st,
And do whate'er thou wilt swift-footed Time
To the wide world and all her fading sweets.
But I forbid thee one most heinous crime:
O carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,
Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen,
Him in thy course untainted do allow,
For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.
    Yet do thy worst old Time: despite thy wrong,
    My love shall in my verse ever live young.


Scheme ABACDEFEGHGHIJ
Poetic Form
Metre 01001110101 01010100111 1011101101 0101110001 11010101111 0110111101 1011010101 1101111101 11111101111 1111111011 1011010101 111010101 1111110111 1110111011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 630
Words 117
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 490
Words per stanza (avg) 115
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
129

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". more…

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