Analysis of Sonnet 88: Out, Traitor Absence

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



Out, traitor Absence, darest thou counsel me
From my dear captainess to run away,
Because in brave array here marched she
That to win me, oft shows a present pay?

Is faith so weak? Or is such force in thee?
When sun is hid, can stars such beams display?
Cannot heav'n's food, once felt, keep stomachs free
From base desire on earthly cates to prey?

Tush, Absence, while thy mists eclipse that light,
My orphan sense flies to th'inward sight
Where memory sets forth the beams of love;

That where before heart lov'd and eyes did see,
In heart both sight and love now coupl'd be;
United powers make each the stronger prove.


Scheme ABAB ABAB CCX AAX
Poetic Form
Metre 1101011101 11111101 010101111 1111110101 1111111101 1111111101 1011111101 11010110111 1101110111 11011111101 1100110111 1101110111 0111011101 01010110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 627
Words 115
Sentences 7
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 121
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
105

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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