Analysis of Sonnet 97: Dian, That Fain Would Cheer
Sir Philip Sidney 1554 (Penshurst, Kent) – 1586 (Zutphen)
Dian, that fain would cheer her friend the Night,
Shows her oft at the full her fairest race,
Bringing with her those starry nymphs, whose chase
From heav'nly standing hits each mortal wight.
But ah, poor Night, in love with Phoebus' light,
And endlessly despairing of his grace,
Herself (to show no other joy hath place)
Silent and sad in mourning weeds doth dight:
Ev'n so (alas) a lady, Dian's peer,
With chice delights and rarest company
Would fain drive clouds from out my heavy cheer.
But woe is me, though Joy itself were she,
She could not show my blind brain ways of joy
While I despair my Sun's sight to enjoy.
Scheme | ABBA ABBA CDC DEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011110101 1011010101 1010110111 111011101 1111011101 0100010111 0111110111 1001010111 1110101011 1101010100 1111111101 1111110101 1111111111 1101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 628 |
Words | 115 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 121 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 75 Views
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"Sonnet 97: Dian, That Fain Would Cheer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35339/sonnet-97%3A-dian%2C-that-fain-would-cheer>.
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