Sonnet 96

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Sonnet 96

Sonnet 96 1609.jpg

–William Shakespeare

Sonnet 96 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a member of the Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man.

Synopsis

The youth's errors are blamed on his age, but others say young gentlemen should enjoy themselves. The youth's faults appear to be charms, just as poor-quality jewels on a queen appear to be more valuable by their association with her. The follies of the youth appear to be truths that some may want to erroneously emulate, like wolves who appear to be lambs and lead the lambs astray. The youth could do the same, but should not do so, because the poet's disapproval of such behavior undermines his good report of the youth, and such behaviour will also reflect badly on the poet.

Structure

Sonnet 96 is an English or Shakespearean sonnet. The English sonnet has three quatrains, followed by a final rhyming couplet. It follows the typical rhyme scheme of the form, abab cdcd efef gg and is composed in iambic pentameter, a type of poetic metre based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions. The 3rd line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter:

 ×     /   ×    /     ×    /    ×   /   ×    / 
Both grace and faults are lov'd of more and less: (96.3)

/ = ictus, a metrically strong syllabic position. × = nonictus.

The 9th line presents a case of metrical ambiguity. Probably the simplest scansion features only one metrical variation, a mid-line reversal:

 ×   / ×  /     /      ×   ×    /   ×   / 
How many lambs might the stern wolf betray, (96.9)

However, both this part of the line and the beginning of the line may be construed differently, depending upon the elements the reader sees fit to emphasize. The line may be scanned with an initial reversal, and with the rightward movement of the third ictus (resulting in a four-position figure, × × / /, sometimes referred to as a minor ionic):

 /   × ×  /     ×      ×   /    /    ×  / 
How many lambs might the stern wolf betray, (96.9)

These alternatives are independent, resulting in four distinct possible scansions for the line.

The meter demands a few variant pronunciations: line 5's "thronèd" is two syllables, and line 14's "being" is one. In lines 8 and 10 "translated" and "translate" are both stressed on the second syllable.

References

First edition and facsimile

Variorum editions

Modern critical editions

• online text