Scorn Not the Sonnet

William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)



Scorn not the Sonnet; Critic, you have frowned,
Mindless of its just honours; with this key
Shakspeare unlocked his heart; the melody
Of this small lute gave ease to Petrarch's wound;
A thousand times this pipe did Tasso sound;
With it Camoens soothed an exile's grief;
The Sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf
Amid the cypress with which Dante crowned
His visionary brow: a glow-worm lamp,
It cheered mild Spenser, called from Faery-land
To struggle through dark ways; and when a damp
Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand
The Thing became a trumpet; whence he blew
Soul-animating strains--alas, too few!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

32 sec read
203

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAACCADEDEFF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 616
Words 105
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was the husband of Eva Bartok. more…

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