Sonnet 32 - The first time that the sun rose on thine oath

Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)



XXXII

The first time that the sun rose on thine oath
To love me, I looked forward to the moon
To slacken all those bonds which seemed too soon
And quickly tied to make a lasting troth.
Quick-loving hearts, I thought, may quickly loathe;
And, looking on myself, I seemed not one
For such man's love!—more like an out-of-tune
Worn viol, a good singer would be wroth
To spoil his song with, and which, snatched in haste,
Is laid down at the first ill-sounding note.
I did not wrong myself so, but I placed
A wrong on thee. For perfect strains may float
'Neath master-hands, from instruments defaced,—
And great souls, at one stroke, may do and doat.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

36 sec read
853

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBACDBAEFEFEE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 644
Words 122
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent English poets of the Victorian era. more…

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