less pleasant for the nightingale, it's simply that the songs of other birds fill the air, and when things become common, they become less dear. It's for this reason, I, like the nightingale, have stopped writing. I do not wish my poems to become boring. Structure Sonnet 102 is an English or Shakespearean sonnet. The English sonnet has three quatrains, followed by a final rhyming couplet. It follows the typical rhyme scheme of the form abab cdcd efef gg and is composed in iambic pentameter, a type of poetic metre based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions. The 8th line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter: × / × / × / × / × / And stops her pipe in growth of riper days. (102.8) The 1st and 3rd lines have a final extrametrical syllable or feminine ending: × / × / × / × / × / (×) My love is strengthened, though more weak in seeming; (102.1) / = ictus, a metrically strong syllabic position. × = nonictus. (×) = extrametrical syllable. Context Sonnet 102 is a part of the Fair Youth sequence, and it is also connected with the surrounding sonnets (100, 101, and 103) in detailing a silence that has arisen between the poet and his muse. David West contends that this sequence may be in response to the Rival Poet sequence. The Rival Poet sequence of sonnets mention a rival for either the affections of the Fair Youth, or that they are addressing other writers that may be a "worthier pen" (Sonnet 79). There is a rather long list of people that scholars believe are likely candidates for the title of the fair youth addressed in the Sonnets: William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke; Philip Herbert, Earl of Montgomery; and Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southampton are the most common candidates. There has also been speculation of the identity of the Rival Poet. George Chapman and Christopher Marlowe, are typically considered to be the two most likely rivals, due to their publicity, profession, relations, and standing with Shakespeare during the presumed time of writing. Exegesis Overview While there is no consensus as to what specifically has caused the silence that has grown between the speaker and his muse, sonnet 102 seems to be an attempt to mend the relationship by claiming that he still loves as strongly as he ever has. Katherine Duncan-Jones has