Analysis of Sonnet 43: Fair Eyes, Sweet Lips

Sir Philip Sidney 1554 (Penshurst, Kent) – 1586 (Zutphen)



Fair eyes, sweet lips, dear heart, that foolish I
Could hope by Cupid's help on you to prey;
Since to himself he doth your gifts apply,
As his main force, choice sport, and easeful stay.

For when he will see who dare him gainsay,
Then with those eyes he looks, lo by and by
Each soul doth at Love's feet his weapons lay,
Glad if for her he give them leave to die.

When he will play, then in her lips he is,
Where blushing red, that Love's self them doth love,
With either lip he doth the other kiss:

But when he will for quiet's sake remove
From all the world, her heart is then his room
Where well he knows, no man to him can come.


Scheme ABAB BABA XXX XXX
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111101 111111111 1101111101 111111011 111111111 1111111101 1111111101 1110111111 1111100111 1101111111 1101110101 111111101 1101011111 1111111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 640
Words 130
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 120
Words per stanza (avg) 32
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
109

Sir Philip Sidney

Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. more…

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