Sonnet 78

Sonnet 78
Detail of old-spelling text
Sonnet 78 in the 1609 Quarto

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So oft have I invoked thee for my Muse
And found such fair assistance in my verse,
As every alien pen hath got my use,
And under thee their poesy disperse.
Thine eyes, that taught the dumb on high to sing,
And heavy ignorance aloft to fly,
Have added feathers to the learned’s wing,
And given grace a double majesty.
Yet be most proud of that which I compile,
Whose influence is thine and born of thee:
In others’ works thou dost but mend the style,
And arts with thy sweet graces graced be;
But thou art all my art and dost advance,
As high as learning, my rude ignorance.




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—William Shakespeare[1]

Sonnet 78 is one of 154 sonnets published by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare in 1609. It is one of the Fair Youth sequence, and the first of the mini-sequence known as the Rival Poet sonnets, thought to be composed some time from 1598 to 1600.

  1. ^ Shakespeare, William. Duncan-Jones, Katherine. Shakespeare's Sonnets. Bloomsbury Arden 2010. p. 262 ISBN 9781408017975.