Sonnet XXVI: Though Dusty Wits

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



Though dusty wits dare scorn astrology,
And fools can think those lamps of purest light
Whose numbers, ways, greatness, eternity,
Promising wonders, wonder do invite,

To have for no cause birthright in the sky,
But for to spangle the black weeds of night:
Or for some brawl, which in that chamber high,
They should still dance to please a gazer's sight;

For me, I do Nature unidle know,
And know great causes, great effects procure:
And know those bodies high reign on the low.

And if these rules did fail, proof makes me sure,
Who oft fore-judge my after-following race,
By only those two stars in Stella's face.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
30

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CBCB DED EFF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 621
Words 110
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3

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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    "Sonnet XXVI: Though Dusty Wits" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/35373/sonnet-xxvi:-though-dusty-wits>.

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