Sonnet 78: So oft have I invoked thee for my Muse

Portrait of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare 1564–1616
78The Sonnets

So oft have I invoked thee for my Muse, And found such fair assistance in my verse As every alien pen hath got my use, And under thee their poesy disperse. Thine eyes, that taught the dumb on high to sing, And heavy ignorance aloft to fly, Have added feathers to the learnèd's wing And given grace a double majesty. Yet be most proud of that which I compile, Whose influence is thine, and born of thee. In others' works thou dost but mend the style, And arts with thy sweet graces gracèd be. But thou art all my art, and dost advance As high as learning my rude ignorance.

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