If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,Injurious distance should not stop my way;For then, despite of space, I would be brought,From limits far remote, where thou dost stay.No matter then although my foot did standUpon the farthest earth remov’d from thee;For nimble thought can jump both sea and land,As soon as think the place where he would be.But, ah, thought kills me, that I am not thought,To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,But that, so much of earth and water wrought,I must attend time’s leisure with my moan;Receiving nought by elements so slowBut heavy tears, badges of either’s woe. 481214 | ||
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Q1Q2Q3C If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,Injurious distance should not stop my way;For then, despite of space, I would be brought,From limits far remote, where thou dost stay.No matter then although my foot did standUpon the farthest earth remov’d from thee;For nimble thought can jump both sea and land,As soon as think the place where he would be.But, ah, thought kills me, that I am not thought,To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,But that, so much of earth and water wrought,I must attend time’s leisure with my moan;Receiving nought by elements so slowBut heavy tears, badges of either’s woe. | ||
Sonnet 44 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. Sonnet 44 is continued in Sonnet 45.
Contents
Structure
Sonnet 44 is an English or Shakespearean sonnet, which contains three quatrains followed by a final rhyming couplet. It follows the typical rhyme scheme of the form, abab cdcd efef gg and is written in iambic pentameter, a type of poetic metre based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions. The fifth line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter:
× / × / × / × / × / No matter then although my foot did stand (44.5)/ = ictus, a metrically strong syllabic position. × = nonictus.The sonnet is quite regular metrically (for example, a three-syllable "injurious" maintains regularity in line two), but implements a few variations, for example in the first and last lines:
× × / / × / × / × / If the dull substance of my flesh were thought, (44.1) × / × / / × × / × / But heavy tears, badges of either's woe. (44.14)...which contain, respectively, a rightward movement of the first ictus (resulting in a four-position figure, × × / /, sometimes referred to as a minor ionic), and a mid-line reversal ("badges").
Criticism
Critics have mentioned Sonnet 44 is directly coupled to Sonnet 45 and lacks a definite conclusion.
In Music
Poeterra recorded a pop ballad version of Sonnet 44 on their album "When in Disgrace" (2014).