Sonnets 29 & 30

SONNET 29	PARAPHRASE
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,	When I've run out of luck and people look down on me,
I all alone beweep my outcast state	All alone I lament my fate as an outcast
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries	And pray to heaven but my cries go unheard
And look upon myself and curse my fate,	And look at myself, cursing my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,	Wishing I were like one who had more hope in life
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,	Wishing I looked like him; wishing I were surrounded by friends,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,	I desire this man's art and that man's range,
With what I most enjoy contented least;	I am least contented with what I used to enjoy most.
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,	But in this mood almost despising myself,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,	I think of you and then my state of sadness
Like to the lark at break of day arising	Like the lark at the break of day, rises
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;	From the gloomy earth and I sing hyms to heaven;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings	For thinking of your love brings such happiness to mind
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.	That then I would not change my state with kings.

SONNET 30	PARAPHRASE
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought	When in these sessions of gratifying silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,	I think of the past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,	I lament my failure to achieve all that I wanted,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:	And I sorrowfully remember that I wasted the best years of my life:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,	Then I can cry, although I am not used to crying,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,	For dear friends now hid in death's unending night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,	And cry again over woes that were long since healed,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:	And lament the loss of many things that I have seen and loved:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,	Then can I grieve over past griefs again,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er	And sadly repeat (to myself) my woes
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,	The sorrowful account of griefs already grieved for,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.	Which (the account) I repay as if I had not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,	But if I think of you while I am in this state of sadness, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.	All my losses are compensated for and my sorrow ends.

· Sonnet 29 depicts the poet as being extremely troubled and insecure. He considers himself unlucky and disgraced, and is jealous of those around him that seem to have better fortune and prospects than he does. One can only guess as to whether the forlorn state of the poet, and his state of disgrace, are real or imaginary states of being since anguishing in deep sorrow is part of the sonnet tradition. Therefore, scholars have only been able to assume as to what Shakespeare was anguishing about in this particular sonnet by examining the circumstances going on in his life during the time he wrote Sonnet 29.

· In 1592, London theatres were shut down because of a severe outbreak of the plague. Some believe that Shakespeare continued to tour the outlying areas of London, however it seems more likely that he left the theatre entirely during this time and concentrated on writing his non-dramatic poetry. The closing of the London theatres made it almost impossible for actors and playwrights to earn a living, and with the plague and poverty threatening his existence, it is understandable why Shakespeare felt “in disgrace with fortune.”

· Also in 1592, the dramatist Robert Greene, while on his deathbed, wrote a scathing attack on Shakespeare: "There is an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers heart wrapt in a Players hide supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you; and, being an absolute Johannes Factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country." This left Shakespeare deeply disturbed and feeling disgraced in “men’s eyes” as well as fortune’s.

· In Sonnet 29, the poet is so depressed and distraught that even his passion for acting seems to have left him (line 8). He feels like an outcast, rejected by society, and because of this isolation, envies almost every other person in the world as being more fortunate that he. Perhaps this feeling of being a “disgrace” to society stems from the blistering attack from Robert Greene…or perhaps this feeling of being inferior to the rest of society came about because Shakespeare was not in the same social class as the Earl of Southampton (who is thought to have been Shakespeare’s lover). Maybe it was because the two showed their love for one another too openly and were scorned because of it. We will never really know the true inspiration behind these sonnets.

· Despite the depressing nature of the poet, the sonnet ends with the positive affirmation that all is not lost and that the poet’s dear friend can compensate for the grief that he feels. The feelings and sentiment in this sonnet bleed over into Sonnet 30.

· In Sonnet 30, the poet still views his friend/lover as his only redeemer, the only one who can pull him out of his despair. The poet sadly recounts thoughts of his dead friends and can only be pulled from this sorrowful reverie by thoughts of his lover, showing the poet’s deep reliance on his friend for spiritual and emotional support.

· Sonnets 29 and 30 introduce us to the poet and his friend/lover, the pain over the two being separated, and the strong dependence the poet has on his friend/lover. These two sonnets lead to a group of so-called “estrangement” sonnets (33-36), in which some cause of rejection, or some violation of a pact by one or the other of the two, is hinted at.