Sonnet 25 is one of 154 sonnets published 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 ...

in the ''Quarto'' of 1609. It is a part of the Fair Youth sequence. In the

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 inventio ...

the poem expresses the poet's contentedness in comparison to others, though they may have titles, honors, or are favored at court, or are noted warriors. It prefigures the more famous treatment of class differences found in Sonnet 29. There are noted similarities in this sonnet and in the relationship of Romeo and Juliet.

Synopsis

The Speaker contrasts those who are fortunate (whether by the

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

influence of ''real'' "stars", or the social influence of their superiors, ''metaphorical'' "stars") with himself who, favored with no such public recognition, nevertheless can revel ("joy" is used as a verb) in what he holds most dear. These seeming fortunates display their "pride" (i.e. self-esteem, or finery) like an opening marigold, but only so long as their prince ("sun") favors them. (Elizabethans knew the marigold as a flower that opened in the presence, and closed in the absence, of the sun.) Similarly, even a warrior renowned for "a thousand victories" may be stripped of his honor and forgotten after a single defeat. But the Speaker is happy in his mutual love, from which he cannot be removed, either by himself or by others.

Structure

Sonnet 25 is an English or Shakespearean

, formed of 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 Gree ...

s and a final

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 ...

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

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 pre ...

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

×   /     ×  /    ×  /   ×    /    ×  /
And all the rest forgot for which he toil'd: (25.12)

:/ = ''ictus'', a metrically strong syllabic position. × = ''nonictus''. The 10th line begins with a common metrical variant, the initial reversal:

/  ×  ×   /  ×    /  × /   ×     /
After a thousand victories once foil'd, (25.10)

The 6th line also has a potential initial reversal, as well as the rightward movement of the fourth ictus (resulting in a four-position figure, × × / /, sometimes referred to as a ''minor ionic''):

 /  ×    ×  / × /   ×    ×  /    /
But as the marigold at the sun's eye, (25.6)

Potential initial reversals also occur in lines 1 and 11, with line 8 potentially exhibiting both an initial and midline reversal. Minor ionics appear in lines 2 and 3. The meter demands a few variant pronunciations: line 3's "favourites" functions as 3 syllables, and line 9's "warrior" as 2 syllables. The final ''-ed'' is syllabic in line 7's 3-syllable "burièd", line 9's 3-syllable "famousèd" and line 11's 2-syllable "razèd". Stephen Booth notes that the original typography suggests that the final rhymes may have been intended to be trisyllabic: "belovèd" and "removèd", although other editors (like John Kerrigan) prefer the standard 2-syllable pronunciations.

Emendations

This sonnet, as originally printed, departs from the English sonnet's

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 ...

, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Lines 9 and 11 (the expected ''e'' lines) do not rhyme. These lines in the Quarto of 1609 read (with emphasis added):

The painefull warrier famoſed for worth, ... Is from the booke of honour raſed quite,

No other lines in ''Shakespeare's Sonnets'' fail to rhyme, and Shakespeare's typical sonnet structure demands that these lines should rhyme with each other. Most editors emend one or the other of these words to form one of three rhyming pairs: * ''fight'' – ''quite'' — first suggested by

Lewis Theobald Lewis Theobald (baptised 2 April 1688 – 18 September 1744), English textual editor and author, was a landmark figure both in the history of Shakespearean editing and in literary satire. He was vital for the establishment of fair texts for Sha ...

and "the more popular of the two generally favored emendations". * ''might'' – ''quite'' — first suggested by

Edward Capell Edward Capell (11 June 171324 February 1781) was an English Shakespearian critic. Biography He was born at Troston Hall () in Suffolk. Through the influence of the Duke of Grafton he was appointed to the office of deputy-inspector of plays ...

and the second most popular according to Booth. * ''worth'' – ''forth'' — also suggested by Theobald. This emendation was preferred by

John Payne Collier John Payne Collier (11 January 1789, London – 17 September 1883, Maidenhead) was an English Shakespearean critic and forger. Reporter and solicitor His father, John Dyer Collier (1762–1825), was a successful journalist, and his connection ...

. Duncan-Jones sees weaknesses in all three emendations, and retains the Quarto's non-rhyming pair ''worth'' – ''quite''.

George Steevens George Steevens (10 May 1736 – 22 January 1800) was an English Shakespearean commentator. Biography Early life He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and ...

opined that "this stanza is not worth the labour that has been bestowed on it."

Analysis

Astrological References

Shakespeare refers to the influences of

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

and fate in this poem. Stars are cited as the luck-giving ones that favor some with positions at court. The reference made to the "favour of the stars" is also a metaphor for the members of the court keeping in favour of the King. Because courtly status is gifted by the stars and not earned, it is precarious. John Kerrigan notes that the astrology metaphor of the first

"scornfully severs advancement from merit, attributing success to chance."

Marigold Metaphor

Edward Dowden Edward Dowden (3 May 18434 April 1913) was an Irish critic, professor, and poet. Biography He was the son of John Wheeler Dowden, a merchant and landowner, and was born at Cork, three years after his brother John, who became Bishop of Edinbur ...

notes that the marigold was most commonly mentioned in Renaissance literature as a heliotrope, with the various symbolic associations connected to that type of plant;

William James Rolfe William James Rolfe, Litt.D. (December 10, 1827 – July 7, 1910) was an American educator and Shakespearean scholar. Early life and education Rolfe was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on December 10, 1827. He attended Amherst College from 18 ...

finds an analogous reference to the plant in

George Wither George Wither (11 June 1588 O.S. (21 June 1588 NS) – 2 May 1667 O.S. (12 May 1667 NS)) was a prolific English poet, pamphleteer, satirist and writer of hymns. Wither's long life spanned one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of En ...

's poetry:

When, with a serious musing, I behold The gratefull, and obsequious ''Marigold'', How duely, ev'ry morning, she displayes Her open breast, when ''Titan'' spreads his Rayes; ... How, when he downe declines, she droopes and mournes, Bedew'd (as 'twere) with teares, till he returnes; ... (lines 1–4, 7–8)

but whereas for Wither the sun represents God and the marigold's reliance upon it is a virtue, Shakespeare's "sun" is mortal and fickle and reliance upon this sun is a risk.

Edmond Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first p ...

noted the resemblance of lines 5–8 to this section of

Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...

's farewell in ''

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

'':

This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hopes, to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honors thick upon him; The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls as I do. (III.ii.352–358)

Ironically, this passage is now widely (though not universally) held to have been written by John Fletcher.

Essex's Rebellion, style of allusion, and "compensation"

In Sonnet 25 may allude to Essex's Rebellion. In ''Themes and Variations in Shakespeare's Sonnets'' (1961), James Blair Leishman criticised preceding approaches to Shakespeare's sonnets, feeling they either excessively focussed on the identity of "W.H.", the Fair Youth, the Rival Poet, or the Dark Lady; or they analysed the sonnets' style in isolation. To remedy this perceived lack, Leishman sets out to analyse the sonnets by comparison and contrast with other poets and sonneteers like

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

and

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

;

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' ( Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

, and

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a " prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...

; and Shakespeare's English predecessors and contemporaries

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for '' The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen o ...

Samuel Daniel Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late-Elizabethan and early- Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle ''Delia'', the e ...

, and

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's Cathe ...

. Here Leishman agrees that the sonnet contains such allusions, but argues that it is more likely to have been written, and the allusions being to, the state of affairs shortly after Essex's return from Ireland in 1599—as opposed to after Essex's trial and execution in 1601—when the issue was fresh in Shakespeare's mind. In this interpretation, Essex is the "painful warrior famoused for fight" who "After a thousand victories" in Ireland "Is from the book of honor razed quite, / And all the rest forgot for which he toil'd:". Leishman also names Sonnet 25 as an example of a contrast between the style of Shakespeare's sonnets and Drayton: where Drayton directly names the people he refers to, and references public events "in a perfectly plain and unambiguous manner," Shakespeare never directly includes names and all his allusions to public events are couched in metaphor. He draws a comparison to

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

and calls the style "Dantesquely

periphrastic In linguistics, periphrasis () is the use of one or more function words to express meaning that otherwise may be expressed by attaching an affix or clitic to a word. The resulting phrase includes two or more collocated words instead of one in ...

". In Leishman's critical framework, Sonnets 25, 29 and 37 are examples of what he calls a theme of "compensation". In this theme, the Poet views the Fair Youth as a divine compensation "for all his own deficiencies of talent and fortune and for all his failures and disappointments." The Poet's faults, the troubles he has met, and the losses he has suffered, are compensated by the positive attributes and the friendship of the Fair Youth.

Audio recording

* The actor, David Warner, reads this sonnet on the 2002 album ''

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 mus ...

)

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

*
Text and notes (Shakespeare-online)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 025 British poems Sonnets by William Shakespeare