Sonnet. If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain'd

John Keats 1795 (Moorgate) – 1821 (Rome)



If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,
And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet
Fetter'd, in spite of pained loveliness;
Let us find out, if we must be constrain'd,
Sandals more interwoven and complete
To fit the naked foot of poesy;
Let us inspect the lyre, and weigh the stress
Of every chord, and see what may be gain'd
By ear industrious, and attention meet:
Misers of sound and syllable, no less
Than Midas of his coinage, let us be
Jealous of dead leaves in the bay wreath crown;
So, if we may not let the Muse be free,
She will be bound with garlands of her own.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 14, 2023

34 sec read
127

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCABCCABCDEDF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 569
Words 111
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

John Keats

John Keats was an English Romantic poet. more…

All John Keats poems | John Keats Books

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    "Sonnet. If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain'd" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/23468/sonnet.-if-by-dull-rhymes-our-english-must-be-chain'd>.

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