Sonnet 83 is one of 154

sonnets A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

published by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

in a

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

titled ''Shakespeare's Sonnets'' in 1609. It is a part of the Fair Youth group of sonnets, and the sixth sonnet of the

Rival Poet The Rival Poet is one of several characters, either fictional or real persons, featured in William Shakespeare's sonnets. The sonnets most commonly identified as the Rival Poet group exist within the Fair Youth group in sonnets 78– 86. Several ...

group.

Exegesis

The poet says that he has not seen that the young man needed to be described in a flattering way ("painting"), and so he has not attempted it. Line 4 ("I found, or thought I found") suggests that he has been rebuked for being silent, which is also suggested in line 9 ("this silence for my sin you did impute"). "Modern quill" suggests an inadequately ordinary kind of writing, and the whole of line 7 ("How far a modern quill doth come too short") contains a sexual inadequacy pun aimed at the rival poet or poets. The third quatrain is so insistent on the poet's silence ("silence" "dumb" "mute") that it suggests deliberateness. Line 12 suggests that when other poets attempt to bring the young man to life in their descriptions, they in fact do the opposite. ("When others would give life and bring a tomb.")Hammond, Gerald. ''The Reader and the Young Man Sonnets''. Barnes & Noble. 1981. p. 106.

Structure

Sonnet 83 is an English or Shakespearean

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

, which has three

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

s, followed by a final rhyming

couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

. It follows the

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and is composed in

iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter () is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called "feet". "Iambi ...

, a

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

of five feet per line, with two syllables in each foot accented weak/strong. Most of the lines are examples of regular iambic pentameter, including the 7th line:

 ×   /  ×  /  ×   /     ×     /   ×    / 
How far a modern quill doth come too short,

  /  ×    ×   /      ×    /    ×  /   ×     / 
Speaking of worth, what worth in you doth grow. (83.7-8)

:/ = ''ictus'', a metrically strong syllabic position. × = ''nonictus''. It is followed (in line 8) by an initial reversal, a common metrical variation. The meter calls for line 6's "being" to function as 1 syllable.

Interpretations

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

, for the 2002

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''

When Love Speaks ''When Love Speaks'' is a compilation album that features interpretations of William Shakespeare's sonnets – some spoken, some set to music – and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians, released under EMI Classics in April ...

'' (

EMI Classics EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded musi ...

)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 083 British poems Sonnets by William Shakespeare