Sonnet 56
56th of 154 by William Shakespeare
Sonnet 56 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. The exact date of its composition is unknown, it is thought that the Fair Youth sequence was written in the first half of the 1590s and was published with the rest of the sonnets in the 1609 Quarto.
Structure
While "sonnet" originally referred to any short lyric, the English (or Surreyan or Shakespearean) sonnet has a definite form. The English sonnet contains three quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet. It follows the form's typical rhyme scheme, 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 fourth line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter:
× / × / × / × / × /
To-morrow sharpened in his former might: (56.4)
The meter demands a few variant pronunciations: Line six's "even" functions as one syllable, line eight's "spirit" as one and "perpetual" as three, line nine's "interim" as two, and line thirteen's "being" as one.
Two lines have a final extrametrical syllable or feminine ending, as exemplified by line eight:
× / × / × / × / × / (×)
The spirit of love, with a perpetual dulness. (56.8)
/ = ictus, a metrically strong syllabic position. × = nonictus.
The public source identifies “Sonnet 56” as 56th of 154 by William Shakespeare. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Sonnet, 56th and William.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Sonnet 56”, the useful work is to connect “56th of 154 by William Shakespeare” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3138053. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1609.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Sonnet 56”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Sonnet 56 primary sources, Sonnet 56 archive and Sonnet research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sonnet 56”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Sonnet 56” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.