Analysis of Sonnet LIII

Edmund Spenser 1552 (London) – 1599 (London)



THe Panther knowing that his spotted hyde,
Doth please all beasts but that his looks the[m] fray:
within a bush his dreadfull head doth hide,
to let them gaze whylest he on them may pray.
Right so my cruell fayre with me doth play,
for with the goodly semblant of her hew:
she doth allure me to mine owne decay,
and then no mercy will vnto me shew.
Great shame it is, thing so diuine in view,
made for to be the worlds most ornament:
to make the bayte her gazers to embrew,
good shames to be so ill an instrument.
But mercy doth with beautie best agree,
as in theyr maker ye them best may see.


Scheme ABABBCBCCDBDEE
Poetic Form
Metre 0101011101 1111111111 010111111 1111111111 111111111 110101101 1101111101 011101111 111111101 1111011100 11010111 1111111100 110111101 1011011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 588
Words 119
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 462
Words per stanza (avg) 117
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
104

Edmund Spenser

Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. more…

All Edmund Spenser poems | Edmund Spenser Books

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