18 pages • 36 minutes read
Sonnet 76
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Literary Devices
Form and Meter
“Sonnet 76” follows the classic English sonnet form (sometimes called the Shakespearean sonnet). An English sonnet is composed of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter. The poem is presented as one single stanza, but it follows a rhyme scheme of three quatrains followed by a couplet, or three sets of four lines followed by a set of two lines. The rhyme scheme used throughout the stanza is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
The English sonnet strictly follows iambic pentameter, or a series of 10 syllables alternating between unstressed and stressed syllables. “Sonnet 76,” however, does have some variation in its meter. The first line, for example—“Why is my verse so barren of new pride” (Line 1)—opens on a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. The seventh line, by contrast—“That every word doth almost tell my name” (Line 7)—is written in perfect iambic pentameter. The poem adheres to the form enough to retain a sense of rhythm and balance, while the variants give the poem a conversational quality, as if the poet was speaking directly to the reader.
William Shakespeare became so intrinsically associated with this poetic form that after his time it became known as the “Shakespearean sonnet.” It went on to influence centuries of new and derivative poetry.
Metaphor and Simile
Like much of Shakespeare’s work, “Sonnet 76” is rich in symbolism and metaphor. The first line, “Why is my verse so barren of new pride” (Line 1), closes on a word that is a favorite of Shakespeare’s and often contested among literary critics. In Sonnet 52, the word pride is used to refer to ornamented clothing: “By new unfolding his imprison'd pride” (Line 12). In Sonnet 151, the word is used to refer to sexual strength and virility: “Proud of this pride” (Line 10). Here, “pride” (Line 1) alludes to both senses. It means ornamentation of words and phrases, which is again alluded to in the line “dressing old words new” (Line 11); it also references the ability to perform a function of creation—this is supported in the line “Showing their birth” (Line 8). The speaker equates their writer’s block to the “barrenness” of infertility.
Another example of much-contested figurative language is the phrase “noted weed” (Line 6), which is generally thought to be symbolic of everyday clothing—“noted” meaning, in this context, “familiar” or “common.” The word “weed” also brings to mind unwanted growth, plants that have become so familiar that they’re no longer welcome. This illustrates the speaker’s attitude toward their own work.
In the poem’s closing lines, the speaker compares their love with the sun: “For as the sun is daily new and old, / So is my love still telling what is told” (Lines 13-14). Here they equate the steady rhythms of the sun to their feelings and need to express them on the page. The sun is “new” (Line 13) because it rises from the darkness each day as if it were the first time, yet it is “old” (Line 13) because it is a familiar sight that takes the same course each day. The love the speaker feels for the fair youth is just as fresh each day, yet it always travels the same path.
Assonance and Consonance
Shakespeare uses repeated sounds to enhance the rhythm of the poem. Rather than being brash and ornamental, these sounds come through naturally to support the larger ideas. Lines 1, 3, and 5 all begin with the same singular syllable: “Why” (this is also an example of anaphora, a literary device that begins sequential sentences or phrases with the same word, as well as an example of consonance). Another single-syllable sound that occurs several times throughout the poem is “So”—in Lines 2, 11, and 14. This use of repeated sounds and words gives the poem a feeling of overall harmony.
The first and second line use the words “verse” (Line 1) and “variation” (Line 2), where the unusual V sounds draw particular attention to these two core ideas. The poem uses repeated hard T sounds in “time” (Line 3) and to punctuate “To new-found methods and to compounds strange” (Line 4). It then moves into the softer Th sounds of “That,” “their,” and “they” (Lines 7, 8). In addition to the anaphoric “Why,” the W sound is utilized all across the poem in phrases like “Why with” and “Why write” (Lines 3, 5), as well as key words like “weed,” “word(s),” “where,” and “what” (Lines 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14). The poem also uses repeated S sounds at pivotal moments like “strange,” “still,” “same,” “showing,” “sweet,” “spending,” “spent,” and “sun” (Lines 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13).
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By William Shakespeare
