Sonnet 149 metrical variant, an initial reversal: Initial reversals are potentially present in lines 3, 4, and 14, and a mid-line reversal is potentially present in line 6. The meter demands that line 2's "cruel" be pronounced as two syllables, and line 11's "defect" (although a noun) be stressed on the second syllable. Sonnet 149 Sonnet 149 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is considered a Dark Lady sonnet, as are all from 127 to 152. Sonnet 149 is an English or Shakespearean sonnet. The English sonnet has three quatrains, followed by a
Sonnet 99 appears as one syllable (in lines 7, 10, and 15). Line 13's "eate" equals modern past tense "ate". As to its fifteen lines, sonnet structure has never been absolutely fixed, and Sidney Lee adduces many examples of fifteen line sonnets. An extra line is particularly common in linked sonnets, and this sonnet is linked to 98; Malone ended 98 with a colon to demonstrate the connection. However, other scholars have remarked on the clumsiness of the first line and suggested that the quarto text represents an unrevised draft that found its way into print. Edward Massey and others asserted that