Analysis of Sonnet 126: O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power

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



O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power
Dost hold Time's fickle glass his fickle hour;
Who hast by waning grown, and therein show'st
Thy lovers withering, as thy sweet self grow'st.
If Nature, sovereign mistress over wrack,
As thou goest onwards, still will pluck thee back,
She keeps thee to this purpose, that her skill
May Time disgrace, and wretched minutes kill.
Yet fear her, O thou minion of her pleasure!
She may detain, but not still keep her treasure.
    Her audit, though delayed, answered must be,
    And her quietus is to render thee.


Scheme AABBCCDDAAEE
Poetic Form
Metre 11110110110 11110111010 11110100111 110100111111 1101010101 1111011111 1111110101 1101010101 11011101010 11011111010 0101011011 00111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 546
Words 98
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 422
Words per stanza (avg) 96
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

30 sec read
61

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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