Analysis of Sonnet XXVIII: You That With Allegory's Curious Frame

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



You that with allegory's curious frame,
Of others' children changelings use to make,
With me those pains for God's sake do not take:
I list not dig so deep for brazen fame.

When I say "Stella," I do mean the same
Princess of Beauty, for whose only sake
The reins of Love I love, though never slake,
And joy therein, though nations count it shame.

I beg no subject to use eloquence,
Nor in hid ways do guide Philosophy:
Look at my hands for no such quintessence;

But know that I in pure simplicity
Breathe out the flames which burn within my heart
Love only reading unto me this art.


Scheme ABBA ABBA CDC DEE
Poetic Form
Metre 11111001 110101111 1111111111 1111111101 1111011101 1011011101 0111111101 0101110111 1110111100 1011110100 1111111010 1111010100 1101110111 1101010111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 590
Words 113
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 114
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
95

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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