Analysis of Sonnet 44: My Words, I Know Do Well

Sir Philip Sidney 1554 (Penshurst, Kent) – 1586 (Zutphen)



My words I know do well set forth my mind,
My mind bemoans his sense of inward smart;
Such smart may pity claim of any heart,
Her heart, sweet heart, is of no tiger's kind:

And yet she hears, yet I no pity find;
But more I cry, less grace she doth impart,
Alas, what cause is there so overthwart,
That nobleness itself makes thus unkind?

I much do guess, yet find no truth save this:
That when the breath of my complaints doth touch
Those dainty doors unto the court of bliss,

The heav'nly nature of that place is such,
That once come there, the sobs of mine annoys
Are metamorphos'd straight to tunes of joys.


Scheme ABBA ABAA CDC DEE
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111111 1101111101 1111011101 0111111101 0111111101 1111111101 01111111 11011101 1111111111 1101110111 1101100111 011011111 1111011101 1111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 617
Words 119
Sentences 3
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 118
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
90

Sir Philip Sidney

Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. more…

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