Sonnet 122 is one of
154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet
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 ...
, and first published in 1609. It is a member of the
Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man. Although the relationship started exuberantly in
Sonnet 18
"Sonnet 18" is one of the best-known of the 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare.
In the sonnet, the speaker asks whether he should compare the Fair Youth to a summer's day, but notes that he has qual ...
("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day") by now it has given way to an almost defensive tone. The poet justifies giving away or losing a notebook ("tables") given him by the youth to record shared events by saying that his memories of them are stronger.
Structure
Sonnet 122 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, ...
. The English sonnet 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 typical
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 ...
of the form 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 type of poetic
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 ...
based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions. The 1st line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter:
× / × / × / × / × /
Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain (122.1)
:/ = ''ictus'', a metrically strong syllabic position. × = ''nonictus''.
Line 4 exhibits a mid-line reversal:
× / × / / × × / × /
Beyond all date; even to eternity: (122.4)
Lines 3, 5, 11, and 14 all have potential initial reversals. Line 10 potentially incorporates a rightward movement of the third ictus (resulting in a four-position figure,
× × / /, sometimes referred to as a ''minor ionic''):
× / × / × × / / × /
Nor need I tallies thy dear love to score; (122.10)
However, if "thy" receives emphasis, the line becomes regular again.
The meter demands that line 4's "even" function as one syllable, and line 7's "oblivion" as three.
Notes
References
External links
Shakespeare's Sonnets online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 122
British poems
Sonnets by William Shakespeare