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Sonnet XXVII: Oft and In Vain

Samuel Daniel 1562 (Taunton) – 1619



Oft and in vain my rebel thoughts have ventur'd
To stop the passage of my vanquisht heart,
And shut those ways my friendly foe first enter'd,
Hoping thereby to free my better part.
And whilst I guard these windows of this fort
Where my heart's thief to vex me made her choice
And thither all my forces do transport,
Another passage opens at her voice.
Her voice betrays me to her hand and eye,
My freedom's tyrants conquering all by art;
But, ah, what glory can she get thereby,
With three such powers to plague one silly heart?
Yet my soul's sovereign, since I must resign,
Reign in my thoughts; my love and life are thine.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

36 sec read
77

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDCDEBEBFF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 632
Words 118
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Samuel Daniel

Samuel Daniel was an English poet and historian. more…

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    "Sonnet XXVII: Oft and In Vain" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 30 Mar. 2023. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/34151/sonnet-xxvii:-oft-and-in-vain>.

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