Analysis of Sonnet 35: What May Words Say
Sir Philip Sidney 1554 (Penshurst, Kent) – 1586 (Zutphen)
What may words say, or what may words not say,
Where truth itself must speak like flattery?
Within what bounds can one his liking stay,
Where Nature doth with infinite agree?
What Nestor's counsel can my flames allay,
Since Reason's self doth blow the coal in me?
And ah what hope, that hope should once see day,
Where Cupid is sworn page to Chastity?
Honor is honor'd, that thou dost possess
Him as thy slave, and now long needy Fame
Doth even grom rich, naming my Stella's name.
Wit learns in thee perfection to express,
Not thou by praise, but prasie in thee is rais'd:
It is a praise to praise, when thou art prais'd.
Scheme | ABAB ABAB CDD CEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111111 1101111100 0111111101 1101110001 111011101 111110101 0111111111 1101111100 1011011101 1111011101 11011101101 1101010101 1111110111 1101111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 629 |
Words | 117 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 121 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 73 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Sonnet 35: What May Words Say" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35277/sonnet-35%3A-what-may-words-say>.
Discuss this Sir Philip Sidney poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In