Sonnet 50 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 ...
. It is a member of the
Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man. It is continued in
Sonnet 51.
Structure
Sonnet 50 is an English or Shakespearean
sonnet, containing three
quatrains followed by a final rhyming
couplet. It follows the form's 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 ...
, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, and is written 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 per line. The first line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter:
× / × / × / × / × /
How heavy do I journey on the way, (50.1)
:/ = ''ictus'', a metrically strong syllabic position. × = ''nonictus''.
The meter demands some variant pronunciations of words. In line seven, the second syllable is stressed in "instínct".
[Kerrigan 1995, p 234.] In line five "tired" is two syllables, and in line eight "being" is one.
Interpretations
*
Gemma Jones
Jennifer "Gemma" Jones (born 4 December 1942) is an English actress. Appearing on both stage and screen, her film appearances include ''Sense and Sensibility (film), Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), the Bridget Jones (film series), ''Bridget Jo ...
, for the 2002
compilation 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
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
)
Notes
Further reading
External links
Analysis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 050
British poems
Sonnets by William Shakespeare