NURUL SYUHADA BINTI MOHD BAHUDIN

POETRY CLASS

Sonnet 29 – William Shakespeare

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heav'n 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 rememb'red such wealth brings,

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

POEM ANALYSIS

1. PERSONA

Persona of a particular poem is the dramatic character, distinguished from the poet, who is
the speaker of a poem. The speaker of this poem is introspective which means he is a little bit
self-absorbed. This is because he spends the entire sonnet talking about himself. This can be
proven by counting the uses of the words “I”, “myself”, and “me”. He does not even pretend this
sonnet is about anything other than him.

2. TONE AND MOOD

In the first 8 lines of the poem, the narrator expresses a bitter and depressed tone. For example,

When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state.

This line expresses the narrator’s bitter tone where he is having bad luck and that he is looked
down by other people so he cried alone pitying himself.

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

This second quatrain shows that the narrator prays even though no one hears his prayers and he
feel sorry for himself.
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

The narrator envies someone who has luck, good looking or popular and that he wishes to be that
someone.
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;

He also wishes that he has that particular person’s talent and opportunity that can make him
happy than feeling sad.
However, the bitter and depressed tone in the first 8 lines changed to contentment in the third
quatrain and the last couplet. For example,

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

Even though he is in his depressed moment, he is happy when he thinks about someone he love.
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
from sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

He feels like a lark that sings at dawn, his gloomy situation brightens and he feels like there is
hope for him because there is someone who gives him love.

And the only couplet in the poem totally shows that tone and mood changes in this poem. For
example,

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

that then I scorn to change my state with kings.

When the narrator thinks about the love he receives from that special someone, he instantly feels
rich despite of his misfortune in life, and that he would never trade his place with anyone for all
the wealth in this world.

3. IMAGERY AND WORDPLAY

1. Fortune and Fate

When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

Line 1: Our speaker starts things off by telling us that he's in "disgrace with fortune." In a general
sense, he just means that he's out of favor with fortune, or is having some rotten luck.

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Line 4: This is where our speaker says he looks at himself and his situation in life and "curses my
[his] fate.“; he's poor, he's not very good looking, he's got no friends, no talent, and prospects for
the future.
 2. Heaven
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

Line 3: This is where the speaker accuses "deaf heaven" of ignoring his "cries.“ At the beginning
of the sonnet, he feels as though God is not listening and has abandoned him during one of the
worst moments in his life.

(..... From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

Line 12: By the time we get to this line, the speaker says he feels like a happy bird that "sings
hymns at heaven's gate." By the end of the sonnet, our speaker brings up "heaven" again as a
way to tell us that he is no longer in a state of spiritual despair.

3. The Lark
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

Lines 10-12: Here, the speaker uses a simile comparing his once depressed mood to a "lark" that
rises up from the "sullen earth" and sings "hymns" at heaven's gate. The "lark" simile also shows
us that our speaker is in a completely different mind frame now than he was at the beginning of
the sonnet. He feels as though the God is finally listening to his “cries” and has helped him
finally.