Sonnet 7 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a procreation sonnet within the Fair Youth sequence. Structure Sonnet 7 is a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet. This type of sonnet consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet, and follows the form's rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. The sonnet is written in iambic pentameter, a type of metre based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions per line, as exemplified in line five (where "heavenly" is contracted to two syllables): × / × / × / × / × / And having climbed the steep-up heavenly hill, (7.5) / = ictus, a metrically strong syllabic position. × = nonictus. The next line presents a somewhat unusual metrical problem. It can be scanned regularly: × / × / × / × / × / Resembling strong youth in his middle age, (7.6) The problem arises with the words "strong youth". Both words have tonic stress, but that of "strong" is normally subordinated to that of "youth", allowing them comfortably to fill × / positions, not / ×. The scansion above would seem to suggest a contrastive accent placed upon "strong", which may not be appropriate as the more salient contrast is between youth and age. Probably the line should be scanned: × / × / / × × / × / Resembling strong youth in his middle age, (7.6) A reversal of the third ictus (as shown above) is normally preceded by at least a slight intonational break, which "strong youth" does not allow. Peter Groves calls this a "harsh mapping", and recommends that in performance "the best thing to do is to prolong the subordinated S-syllable [here, "strong"] ... the effect of this is to throw a degree of emphasis on it". Interpretive synopsis Each day for the sun is like one lifetime for man. He is youthful, capable, and admired in the early stages of his lifetime, much like the sun is admired in the early day. But as the sun sets and a man's aging gets the best of him, he is facing frailty and mortality, and those once concerned with man and sun are now inattentive. At night the sun is forgotten. At death man is forgotten, unless he leaves a legacy in the form of a human son. Commentary This sonnet introduces new imagery,