The Sonnets CIII - Alack! what poverty my Muse brings forth

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



Alack! what poverty my Muse brings forth,
That having such a scope to show her pride,
The argument, all bare, is of more worth
Than when it hath my added praise beside!
O! blame me not, if I no more can write!
Look in your glass, and there appears a face
That over-goes my blunt invention quite,
Dulling my lines, and doing me disgrace.
Were it not sinful then, striving to mend,
To mar the subject that before was well?
For to no other pass my verses tend
Than of your graces and your gifts to tell;
And more, much more, than in my verse can sit,
Your own glass shows you when you look in it.
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on April 24, 2023

35 sec read
16

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDEDEFGFGHH
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 580
Words 117
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

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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    "The Sonnets CIII - Alack! what poverty my Muse brings forth" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/57106/the-sonnets-ciii---alack!-what-poverty-my-muse-brings-forth>.

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