Sonnet XXVI

Edmund Spenser 1552 (London) – 1599 (London)



SWeet is the Rose, but growes vpon a brere;
Sweet is the Iunipere, but sharpe his bough;
sweet is the Eglantine, but pricketh nere;
sweet is the firbloome, but his braunches rough.
Sweet is the Cypresse, but his rynd is tough,
sweet is the nut, but bitter is his pill;
sweet is the broome-flowre, but yet sowre enough;
and sweet is Moly, but his root is ill.
So euery sweet with soure is tempred still,
that maketh it be coueted the more:
for easie things that may be got at will,
most sorts of men doe set but little store.
Why then should I accoumpt of little paine,
that endlesse pleasure shall vnto me gaine.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
109

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACCDCDDADAEE
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 607
Words 117
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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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