Analysis of Sonnet XXXV: And Yet I Cannot

Samuel Daniel 1562 (Taunton) – 1619



And yet I cannot reprehend the flight,
Or blame th'attempt presuming so to soar;
The mounting venture for a high delight
Did make the honor of the fall the more.
For who gets wealth that puts not from the shore?
Danger hath honor, great designs their fame,
Glory doth follow, courage goes before.
And though th'event oft answers not the same,
Suffice that high attempts have never shame.
The mean observer (whom base Safety keeps),
Lives without honor, dies without a name,
And in eternal darkness ever sleeps.
And therefore, Delia, 'tis to me no blot
To have attempted, though attain'd thee not.


Scheme ABABBCBCCDCDEE
Poetic Form Spenserian sonnet 
Metre 01110101 111101010111 0101010101 1101010101 1111111101 1011010111 1011010101 011101110101 0111011101 0101011101 1011010101 0001010101 011011111 1101010111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 604
Words 105
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 470
Words per stanza (avg) 103
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
104

Samuel Daniel

Samuel Daniel was an English poet and historian. more…

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