Analysis of Sonnet VII: When Nature

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



When Nature made her chief work, Stella's eyes,
In color black why wrapp'd she beams so bright?
Would she in beamy black, like painter wise,
Frame daintiest lustre, mix'd of shades and light?

Or did she else that sober hue devise,
In object best to knit and strength our sight,
Lest if no veil those brave gleams did disguise,
They sun-like should more dazzle than delight?

Or would she her miraculous power show,
That whereas black seems Beauty's contrary,
She even if black doth make all beauties flow?

Both so and thus, she minding Love shoud be
Placed ever there, gave him this mourning weed,
To honor all their deaths, who for her bleed.


Scheme ABAB ABAB CDC DEE
Poetic Form
Metre 1101011101 0101111111 110111101 111011101 1111110101 01011101101 1111111101 1111110101 11100100101 101111100 11011111101 1101110111 1101111101 1101111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 650
Words 116
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 126
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
55

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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