This Sonnet 29 summary starts at a low point. In William Shakespeare’s sonnet, the speaker feels disgraced, unlucky and alone. He envies other men their hope, looks, friends and talents, and he curses his fate. Then he happens to think of the person he loves, and his mood rises “Like to the lark at break of day.” By the end he would not trade places with kings. Read the full text of Sonnet 29 on Poetry Catalog.
Sonnet 29 Summary
Lines 1–4. When he is “in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,” out of luck and out of favor, the speaker weeps alone over his “outcast state.” He troubles “deaf heaven” with “bootless cries,” useless prayers that heaven ignores, and he looks at himself and curses his fate.
Lines 5–8. He wishes he were like someone “more rich in hope,” better looking, or with more friends. He desires “this man’s art, and that man’s scope,” one man’s skill and another’s opportunities. Even the things he usually enjoys most now satisfy him least.
Lines 9–12. “Yet,” in the middle of these thoughts, almost despising himself, he happens to think of the beloved. His state lifts “Like to the lark at break of day arising / From sullen earth,” and sings “hymns at heaven’s gate.”
Lines 13–14. Remembering the beloved’s love brings him such wealth that he would scorn “to change my state with kings.”
Key Facts
- Poet: William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
- Published: 1609, in Shakespeare’s Sonnets
- Sequence: among the sonnets traditionally read as addressed to a young man (Sonnets 1–126)
- Form: Shakespearean (English) sonnet
- Speaker: a man who feels like a failure and an outcast
- Tone: despairing, then joyful
Themes
Envy and self-pity. The first eight lines are a catalogue of comparison. The speaker measures himself against others and finds himself lacking in everything.
The power of love. A single thought of the beloved transforms his mood. Love is presented as more valuable than wealth, status or talent.
Fortune and fate. He feels abandoned by luck and by public opinion. The poem suggests that inner happiness can outweigh outer misfortune.
Spiritual uplift. Heaven is “deaf” in line 3, but by line 12 the lark is singing “at heaven’s gate.” Love restores a connection the speaker thought he had lost.
Key Lines Explained
When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
“Disgrace” here means being out of favor. “Men’s eyes” refers to public opinion. “Beweep” is an old, emphatic word for weeping over something.
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
“Bootless” means useless. The phrase “deaf heaven” shows how alone the speaker feels: even God seems not to listen.
Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
He wants pieces of other people’s lives. The second line is a neat reversal: his favorite pleasures now please him least.
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
The turning image. The lark, a bird known for singing as it rises at dawn, lifts from the “sullen,” gloomy earth. The run-on line imitates the bird’s flight upward.
For thy sweet love remember’d such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
The couplet completes the reversal. The man who envied everyone now would not trade places even with a king.
Form, Meter and Rhyme
Sonnet 29 is a Shakespearean sonnet in iambic pentameter, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Unusually, the whole poem is one sentence, built on a three-step structure: When (lines 1–8), Yet (lines 9–12) and For (lines 13–14).
The turn, or volta, comes at line 9 with “Yet.” Before it, the speaker sinks; after it, he rises. The word “state” appears three times, in lines 2, 10 and 14, and its meaning shifts from his miserable condition, to his lifted mood, to a pun on a king’s state or rank. The word also anchors two rhymes: “state” with “fate” in the first quatrain, and “state” with “gate” in the third.
FAQ
What is the main message of Sonnet 29?
That love can lift a person out of despair. Thinking of the beloved makes the speaker feel richer than a king, despite his bad fortune.
What is the volta in Sonnet 29?
It comes at line 9 with the word “Yet,” when the speaker’s thoughts turn from self-pity to the beloved.
What does the lark symbolize?
Joy and spiritual uplift. Like a lark rising and singing at dawn, the speaker’s spirit rises when he thinks of love.
What does “bootless cries” mean?
Useless cries or prayers that achieve nothing, because heaven seems deaf to them.
What type of poem is Sonnet 29?
A Shakespearean sonnet: fourteen lines of iambic pentameter rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.