The use of Polysyllabic diction—the use of words with more than one or two syllables—is common in sonnets, particularly among Renaissance and Victorian poets, who used it for rhetorical and stylistic purposes.
Instead of a numbered ranking, here is an exploration of several sonnets and sonnet sequences known for their sophisticated, multi-syllable vocabulary, organized by poet.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
Shakespeare frequently used polysyllabic and Latinate diction to create formal, intellectual, and dramatic effects.
Sonnet 1 ("From fairest creatures we desire increase"): Features complex words such as "increase," "contracted," "self-substantial," "abundance," "pity," and "niggarding," exploring themes of procreation and self-destruction.
Sonnet 25 ("Let those who are in favour with their stars"): Employs an elevated vocabulary with words like "favoured," "deservéd," "confinéd," "flourishing," and "melancholy," contrasting public honor with private affection.
Sonnet 66 ("Tired with all these, for restful death I cry"): A catalog of social and moral ills, this sonnet's weary tone is amplified by its vocabulary, including "deserving," "imperfections," "disgracéd," "preferment," and "captived".
Sonnet 86 ("Was it the proud full sail of his great verse"): This sonnet, about a rival poet, uses words like "sailing," "invention," "prefiguréd," "interdict," and "astonishment".
Sonnet 129 ("The expense of spirit in a waste of shame"): This deeply psychological sonnet on lust is notable for its intricate, abstract language, with words such as "spirit," "expense," "prey," "perjured," "savage," and "murderous".
John Donne (1572–1631)
As a Metaphysical poet, Donne was known for his intellectual complexity, which often manifested in highly philosophical and polysyllabic diction.
Holy Sonnet 1 ("Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?"): Features words such as "decay," "repairs," "pleasures," "despair," "feeble," "desperation," and "sustains," which convey the speaker's spiritual crisis.
Holy Sonnet 5 ("I am a little world made cunningly"): Uses words such as "cunningly," "angelic," "betrayed," "earnestly," "heretofore," and "consuming," illustrating the struggle between the spiritual and physical self.
Holy Sonnet 7 ("At the round earth's imagined corners, blow"): A meditation on the Last Judgment, this sonnet uses words like "imagined," "innumerable," "unnumber'd," "resurrection," "infirmities," and "meditate".
Holy Sonnet 10 ("Death, be not proud"): Though it contains many monosyllabic words, the polysyllabic words "flatter," "poison," "magic," "swelling," and "eternally" are strategically placed to diminish the supposed power of death.
Holy Sonnet 14 ("Batter my heart, three-personed God"): The sonnet's dramatic turn is marked by words like "three-personed," "imprison," "usurp'd," "enthrall," "pardon," "captived," and "ravish".
John Milton (1608–1674)
Milton's sonnets, known as Miltonic sonnets, often explored internal and political conflicts with an elevated, classical style, characterized by sophisticated and often Latinate vocabulary.
Sonnet 19 ("When I consider how my light is spent"): This autobiographical sonnet reflects on the poet's blindness. It employs words like "consider," "useless," "present," "returning," "patience," "prevent," and "thousand".
Sonnet 23 ("Methought I saw my late espouséd saint"): A personal and complex dream vision, this sonnet uses polysyllabic words like "methought," "espouséd," "resurrection," "purification," "presented," and "impurities".
William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
Wordsworth’s sonnets, though often on natural subjects, demonstrate a considerable range in diction, with some leaning toward the more complex.
"The world is too much with us; late and soon": Critiquing industrialization, this sonnet includes words such as "getting," "spending," "possessions," "multitude," "sordid," and "degraded".
"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802": Describes a metropolitan scene with sophisticated vocabulary, using words like "majesty," "touching," "parapets," "ships," "domes," and "splendor".
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese use a rich, emotional vocabulary to articulate the complexity of love.
Sonnet 43 ("How do I love thee? Let me count the ways"): The famous opening is followed by emotional and elaborate language, including "countenance," "incessant," "passion," "childhood's," "simplest," and "perfectly".
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
Hopkins' sonnets are distinct for their unique "sprung rhythm" and dense, multi-layered diction, often involving compound words and convoluted syntax.
"The Windhover": A good example of Hopkins' verbal dexterity, with phrases and words such as "dappledawn-drawn," "hurl," "skate," "brilliance," and "valour," capturing the falcon's movement.
"Carrion Comfort": The title itself signals the complexity. The sonnet includes polysyllabic and invented compound words like "comfort," "confront," "endurance," and "uncomfortablest".
"God's Grandeur": This sonnet uses both simple and complex words to convey its message about the divine presence in nature, with words such as "grandeur," "generations," "bent," "unbruised," "freshness," and "nature".
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
Millay's sonnets often echo earlier poetic forms while injecting modern themes and nuanced diction.
"What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why" (Sonnet XLIII): This sonnet of longing and memory includes words like "remember," "innumerable," "unremembered," "dispossessed," "sequestered," and "unsubstantial".
Emma Lazarus (1849–1887)
Lazarus's famous sonnet is an excellent example of a poem using powerful, formal language to convey a political and humanitarian message.
"The New Colossus": This sonnet, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, uses powerful, polysyllabic words like "colossus," "beacon," "exiled," "mighty," "imprisoned," and "humanitarian".
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