Sonnet 29
by
William
Shakespeare
Sonnets originated in Italy and were
introduced to England during the Tudor
period by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Shakespeare
followed the more idiomatic rhyme scheme
of sonnets that Sir Philip Sydney used in
the first great Elizabethan sonnets cycle,
Astrophel and Stella (these sonnets were
published posthumously in 1591).
*Giocomo da Lentini
*Italian Poet of 13th Century
*A love poem of a man to a woman
*14 lines poetry composition
*First eight lines (0ctet) pose a problem
*Last six lines (sestet) solves the problem
*Line nine (volta) is a sharp turn which brings
about the move to the resolution
*abba abba ryhme scheme
Francesco Petrarca (20
July 1304 – 19 July
1374), known in English
as Petrarch, was an
Italian scholar and
poet, and one of the
earliest humanists.
Petrarch is often called
the "Father of
“Word’s Greatest Sonneteer” Humanism".[
The subject of
Petrarch’s 366
Sonnets of
Unrequited
Love
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: - A
England hath need of thee: she is a fen - B
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen, - B
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower, - A
Have forfeited their ancient English dower - A
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men; - B
Oh! raise us up, return to us again; - B
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power. - A
Octave - Introduces the theme or problem
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart; - C
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: - D
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, - D
So didst thou travel on life's common way, - E
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart - C
The lowliest duties on herself did lay. - E
Sestet - Solves the problem
William Shakespeare (26 April
1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616)
was an English poet and
playwright, widely regarded as
the greatest writer in the English
language and the world's pre-
eminent dramatist. He is often
called England's national poet and
the "Bard of Avon". His surviving
works, including some
collaborations, consist of about 38
plays and 154 sonnets.
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-
upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne
Hathaway, with whom he had three children:
Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between
1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in
London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a
playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's
Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to
have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49,
where he died three years later.
Sonnets are fourteen-line lyric poems,
traditionally written in iambic pentameter - that
is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling
on every second syllable, as in: "Shall I compare
thee to a summer's day?".
Sonnets are formal poems and consist of 14 lines
(3 quatrains and a couplet- two lines of verse
usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme
forming a unit.)
When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
2I all alone beweep my outcast state,
3And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
4And look upon myself and curse my fate,
5Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
6Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
7Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
8With what I most enjoy contented least;
9Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
10Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
11Like to the lark at break of day arising
12From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
13 For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
14 That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
~ the speaker admits that there are times in his life
when things are not going well
~ he feels like an outcast as he cries and whines and
curses his fate
~ outcast state (2): The poet's "outcast state" is
possibly an allusion to his lack of work as an actor
due to the closing of the theatres in 1592 (during an
outbreak of plague). It also could be a reference to
the attack on Shakespeare at the hands of Robert
Greene.
~ describes the speaker’s discontent; When he
finds himself feeling cursed and outcast, he
might wish he were like some other man
~ he would like to look like some handsome man,
or have friends like some friendly man, or he
might wish he could create like some creative
man, or be able to have the understanding of
another man.
~ He becomes negligent and oblivious even failing
to find joy in the things in his life that usually
make him happy.
~ So when he is feeling cursed and outcast by
others, and wishing he were more like those
who are more acceptable, and these thoughts
are making him “almost” hate himself, what
does he do? He thinks about his poetry—and
suddenly his state of mind is transformed
~ All is not lost, however, for the sonnet ends
with a positive affirmation that the poet can
combat his anguish with the "sweet love" (13)
of his dear friend.
1. In 1592 the London theatres closed due to
a severe outbreak of plague
it is almost certain that he left the theatre
entirely during this time to work on his
sonnets and narrative poems
Whenever my luck turns bad and people look down on me
I sit by myself and cry because I'm all alone,
And I pray to God, who doesn't listen or answer my prayers,
And I look at my life and curse the way it's turned out,
Wishing that I was like someone with better prospects,
That I was more beautiful, that I had more influential friends,
Wishing that I had this man's skill and that one's range of skills,
And even the things I love best don't bring me any pleasure;
Yet whenever I think like this, almost hating myself,
I think about you and then I feel
Like a bird at the break of day that flies up
From the ground, and sings songs at the pearly gates,
Because thinking about your love brings so much richness to my life
That I would rather have it than be king.
