Analysis of Sonnet 149: Canst thou, O cruel, say I love thee not

William Shakespeare 1564 (Stratford-upon-Avon) – 1616 (Stratford-upon-Avon)



Canst thou, O cruel, say I love thee not,
When I against my self with thee partake?
Do I not think on thee when I forgot
Am of my self, all tyrant, for thy sake?
Who hateth thee that I do call my friend?
On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon?
Nay, if thou lour'st on me, do I not spend
Revenge upon my self with present moan?
What merit do I in my self respect,
That is so proud thy service to despise,
When all my best doth worship thy defect,
Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?
    But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind:
    Those that can see thou lov'st, and I am blind.


Scheme ABABCDCEFGFGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011111 1101111101 1111111101 1111110111 111111111 11111111101 11111111111 0101111101 1101101101 1111110101 1111110110 0101010111 1111111111 1111110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 583
Words 123
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 435
Words per stanza (avg) 121
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
97

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". more…

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