Sonnet 152 is a sonnet 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 ...

. It is one of a collection of 154 sonnets, dealing with themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality, first published in a 1609.

Synopsis

Although concluding the sequence of ''

The Dark Lady ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' sonnets (Sonnets 127-152), sonnet 152 provides no happy ending to the series. This sonnet tells of how the narrator judges his mistress, but then he realizes that he cannot judge her, as he as well has been sinful.

Structure

Sonnet 152 is an English or Shakespearean sonnet. The English sonnet has three quatrains, followed by a final rhyming couplet. 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 r ...

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". "Iam ...

, 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 prefi ...

based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions. The 12th line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter:

×   /     ×    /   × /       ×   /     ×   / 
Or made them swear against the thing they see; (152.12)

The 2nd line has a final extrametrical syllable or ''feminine ending'':

 ×    /  ×     /    ×   /     ×  /  ×     / (×)
But thou art twice forsworn, to me love swearing; (152.2)

:/ = ''ictus'', a metrically strong syllabic position. × = ''nonictus''. (×) = extrametrical syllable. Lines 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11 also have feminine endings. Line 10 begins with a common metrical variant, an initial reversal:

/     ×    ×  /      ×   /      ×  /   ×  / 
Oaths of thy love, thy truth, thy constancy; (152.10)

An initial reversal potentially occurs in line 11, and mid-line reversals potentially occur in lines 7 and 9.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 152 British poems Sonnets by William Shakespeare