This is an analysis of the poem Sonnet 8: Music To Hear, Why Hear'st Thou Music Sadly? that begins with:

Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.... 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: ababcdcdefefXX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: Shakespearean sonnet
  • Metre: 10011111010 1011110101 11111110110 1110010101 001110110001 1101010111 1111011101 0100011111 11111100010 11011100100 0100101111010 1101110111 11011010101 1001101011100
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 668
  • Average number of words per stanza: 112
  • Amount of lines: 14
  • Average number of symbols per line: 47 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; thou, one are repeated.

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

  • summary of Sonnet 8: Music To Hear, Why Hear'st Thou Music Sadly?;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by William Shakespeare