Sonnet Xiv: Alas, Have I Not by Sir Philip Sidney: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Sonnet Xiv: Alas, Have I Not that begins with:

Alas, have I not pain enough, my friend,
Upon whose breast a fiercer gripe doth tire, ... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: abba abXa cac aXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,3,3,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: sonnet with iambic pentameter or irregular meter
  • Metre: 0111110111 01110101110 10111111010 1111110101 1011111101 01110101010 111111100010 0101110101 0101110101 1101011101 1001110111 0101101111 0100111000 1101111100
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 156
  • Average number of words per stanza: 30
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 44 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; in is repeated.

    The author used the same word if at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of Sonnet Xiv: Alas, Have I Not;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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