Sonnet 96 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. It is a member of the Fair Youth sequence.

Synopsis

The young man is praised for the charms found in both his faults and his good qualities; if he wanted to he could "lead away" or seduce even more of those who gaze at him. In the final couplet the speaker urges him: Do not, because since the young man's good reputation is in part based on his faults, if he goes too far those faults could be a danger to both of their reputations. The final couplet is identical to the final couplet of sonnet 36. Each couplet however has a different meaning according to the context of each sonnet.

Structure

Sonnet 96 is an English or Shakespearean sonnet, which is composed of three quatrains, and a final rhyming couplet. The poem's lines follow the

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB r ...

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, and are written in

iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter () is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called " feet". "Iam ...

: Five feet, each with two syllables accented weak/strong. The 3rd line is an example of 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 Scansion ( , rhymes with ''mansion''; verb: ''to scan''), or a system of scansion, is the method or practice of determining and (usually) graphically representing the metrical pattern of a line of verse. In classical poetry, these patterns are ...

features only one metrical variation, a reversal of the accents in the third foot:

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

However, the line may be read differently, depending upon the reader's interpretation. 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)

The meter calls for 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.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 096 British poems Sonnets by William Shakespeare