Sonnet 57: Being your slave, what should I do but tend

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



Being your slave, what should I do but tend
Upon the hours and times of your desire?
I have no precious time at all to spend,
Nor services to do, till you require.
Nor dare I chide the world-without-end hour,
Whilst I, my sovereign, watch the clock for you,
Nor think the bitterness of absence sour
When you have bid your servant once adieu.
Nor dare I question with my jealous thought
Where you may be, or your affairs suppose,
But, like a sad slave, stay and think of naught
Save where you are, how happy you make those.
    So true a fool is love that in your will,
    Though you do any thing, he thinks no ill.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

36 sec read
167

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABBCBCDEDEFF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 610
Words 120
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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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    "Sonnet 57: Being your slave, what should I do but tend" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/41506/sonnet-57:-being-your-slave,-what-should-i-do-but-tend>.

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