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Sonnet · Life

Sonnet 84: Who is it that says most, which can say more

by William Shakespeare

Who is it that says most, which can say more,

Than this rich praise, — that you alone, are you?

In whose confine immured is the store

Which should example where your equal grew.

Lean penury within that pen doth dwell

That to his subject lends not some small glory;

But he that writes of you, if he can tell

That you are you, so dignifies his story,

Let him but copy what in you is writ,

Not making worse what nature made so clear,

And such a counterpart shall fame his wit,

Making his style admired every where.

You to your beauteous blessings add a curse,

Being fond on praise, which makes your praises worse.

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Quick facts

Poem
Sonnet 84: Who is it that says most, which can say more
Poet
William Shakespeare
Length
14 lines
Form
Sonnet
Themes
Life

Craft notes

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
Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).

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Author record
William Shakespeare1564–1616
Source record
PoetryDBSonnet 84: Who is it that says most, which can say more 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 3d01c7337bde41d1
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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