Analysis of Sonnet 58: Doubt There Hath Been

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



Doubt there hath been, when with his golden chain
The Orator so far men's hearts doth bind,
That no place else their guided steps can find,
But as he them more short or slack doth rein,

Whether with words this sovereignty he gain,
Cloth'd with fine tropes, with strongest reasons lin'd,
Or else pronouncing grace, wherewith his mind
Prints his own lively form in rudest brain:

Now judge by this, in piercing phrases late,
Th'anatomy of all my woes I wrate;
Stella's sweet breath the same to me did read.

Oh voice, oh face! maugre my speech's might,
Which wooed woe, most ravishing delight
E'en those sad words, e'en in sad me did breed.


Scheme ABBA ABBA XBX CCX
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111101 0100111111 1111110111 1111111111 1011110011 1111110101 110101111 1111010101 1111010101 110100111111 1011011111 11111111 111110001 111111101111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 644
Words 116
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 124
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
113

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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