Sonnet · Death & Loss

Sonnet 74: But be contented: when that fell arrest

by William Shakespeare

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1But be contented: when that fell arrest

2Without all bail shall carry me away,

3My life hath in this line some interest,

4Which for memorial still with thee shall stay.

5When thou reviewest this, thou dost review

6The very part was consecrate to thee:

7The earth can have but earth, which is his due;

8My spirit is thine, the better part of me:

9So then thou hast but lost the dregs of life,

10The prey of worms, my body being dead;

11The coward conquest of a wretch's knife,

12Too base of thee to be remembered.

13 The worth of that is that which it contains,

14 And that is this, and this with thee remains.

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“Sonnet 74: But be contented: when that fell arrest” by William Shakespeare — quilloak.com/poems/sonnet-74

Quick facts

Poem: Sonnet 74: But be contented: when that fell arrest
Poet: William Shakespeare
Length: 14 lines
Form: Sonnet
Themes: Death & Loss

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How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
Line length: Lines run 9-11 syllables (median 10), consistent with pentameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: William Shakespeare1564–1616
Source record: PoetryDBSonnet 74: But be contented: when that fell arrest by william-shakespeare, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 145b455784abefea…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Sonnet Death & Loss

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