pentameter, including the 10th line: × / × / × / × / × / Whilst he upon your soundless deep doth ride; (80.10) / = ictus, a metrically strong syllabic position. × = nonictus. The meter suggests a few variant pronunciations: the 2nd line's "spirit" functions as 1 syllable (possibly pronounced as spear't, sprite, sprit, or spurt), the 7th line's "inferior" as 3 syllables, and the 9th line's "shallowest" as 2. The sonnet exhibits some metrical variations, for example, an initial reversal in the 2nd line: / × × / × / × / × / Knowing a better spirit doth use your name, (80.2) Reversals can also occur mid-line, as occurs in line 5; and some may be optional, as the possible initial reversals in lines 1 and 13. Also possible is the rightward movement of the first ictus (the resulting four-position figure, × × / /, is sometimes referred to as a minor ionic): × × / / × / × / × / On your broad main doth wilfully appear. (80.8) Notes References British poems Sonnets by William Shakespeare