The Sonnets CXL - Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press

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



Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press
My tongue-tied patience with too much disdain;
Lest sorrow lend me words, and words express
The manner of my pity-wanting pain.
If I might teach thee wit, better it were,
Though not to love, yet, love to tell me so;
As testy sick men, when their deaths be near,
No news but health from their physicians know;
For, if I should despair, I should grow mad,
And in my madness might speak ill of thee;
Now this ill-wresting world is grown so bad,
Mad slanderers by mad ears believed be.
That I may not be so, nor thou belied,
Bear thine eyes straight, though thy proud heart go wide.
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on April 24, 2023

35 sec read
16

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDEDFGFGHH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 605
Words 118
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…

All William Shakespeare poems | William Shakespeare Books

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    "The Sonnets CXL - Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/57107/the-sonnets-cxl---be-wise-as-thou-art-cruel;-do-not-press>.

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