Analysis of Sonnet 8: Love, Born In Greece

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



Love, born in Greece, of late fled from his native place,
Forc'd by a tedious proof, that Turkish harden'd heart
Is no fit mark to pierce with his fine pointed dart,
And pleas'd with our soft peace, stayed here his flying race.

But finding these north climes do coldly him embrace,
Not used to frozen clips, he strave to find some part
Where with most ease and warmth he might employ his art:
At length he perch'd himself in Stella's joyful face,

Whose fair skin, beamy eyes, like morning sun on snow,
Deceiv'd the quaking boy, who thought from so pure light
Effects of lively heat must needs in nature grow.

But she most fair, most cold, made him thence take his flight
To my close heart, where while some firebrands he did lay,
He burnt un'wares his wings, and cannot fly away.


Scheme ABBA ABBA CDC DEE
Poetic Form
Metre 110111111101 1101001110101 111111111101 0111011111101 110111110101 111101111111 111101110111 111101010101 11111110111 010101111111 011101110101 111111111111 111111110111 111111010101
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 787
Words 145
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 43
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 152
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
81

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…

All Sir Philip Sidney poems | Sir Philip Sidney Books

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    What are the first eight lines of a sonnet called?
    A octave
    B octane
    C octet
    D octopus