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SONNET 29
by William Shakespeare
When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
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Shakespeare’s famous sonnet is 14 lines (as are all sonnets), in iambic pentameter, with an ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG rhyme scheme.
The piece is part of the “fair youth” sonnets – which are most of them. Here he presents himself alone, as an outcast, bemoaning his life… until he thinks about the aforementioned fair youth. The volta/turn starts with the word “Yet” at the beginning of line 9, and thereafter he argues the advantages of his present condition.
Lines 1 through 4:
When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
The Speaker here states in these lines that he is often in a state of disgrace with the world and with “fortune” – meaning that he often has neither luck, Divine Providence, nor friends.
We don’t really know why he feels this way. Perhaps the writing critics used to get ‘The Bard’ down and feeling bad about himself.
Shakespeare makes excellent use of alliteration in line 2 and of Repetition in lines 3 and 4.
Lines 5 through 8:
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
The rhyme here between least and possessed works if you imagine least pronounced more like “lest” – which is not an impossibility with the right accent. Thinking more about it, it’s also possible the first “e” in possessed was more of an EE instead of an Eh pronunciation.
Thematically, these lines continue the theme of the first four, but we see a shift from him telling us how bad his own situation is to him telling us how much he often wishes to be someone else. Line 8 tells us that he no longer enjoys what he used to enjoy. The picture of the first 8 lines is one of a man in a great state of depression.
Shakespeare makes great use of repetition inn line 6.
Lines 9 through 14:
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
In a sonnet, usually you see a turn in the mood of the piece starting with line 9 and that happens here. The Speaker tells us that even in the dark personal state described above, he thinks on the Subject.
In Line 11, we see the Bard make use of simile, with the speaker figuratively comparing himself “like as to the lark.” Line 12 contains another excellent example of alliteration. Shakespeare also uses enjambment between lines 11 and 12, speeding up the pace of the poem slightly as we draw toward the couplet conclusion.
I found a great reading of this sonnet and I’ll share it below. Shakespeare was a master of word choice and phrasing. The great Judy Dench delivers Sonnet 29 superbly.
