Analysis of Sonnet 111: O, for my sake do you with Fortune chide

William Shakespeare 1564 (Stratford-upon-Avon) – 1616 (Stratford-upon-Avon)



O, for my sake do you with Fortune chide,
The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds,
That did not better for my life provide
Than public means which public manners breeds.
Thence comes it that my name receives a brand,
And almost thence my nature is subdued
To what it works in, like the dyer's hand.
Pity me then, and wish I were renewed,
Whilst like a willing patient I will drink
Potions of eisel 'gainst my strong infection;
No bitterness that I will bitter think,
Nor double penance to correct correction.
    Pity me then, dear friend, and I assure ye
    Even that your pity is enough to cure me.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Poetic Form Shakespearean sonnet 
Metre 1111111101 0101011101 1111011101 1101110101 1111110101 011110101 111101011 1011011001 1101010111 10110111010 1100111101 11010101010 10111101011 101110101111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 595
Words 112
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 466
Words per stanza (avg) 110
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

33 sec read
55

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". more…

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