Sonnet 29in modern English, side by side

The speaker is at rock bottom — unlucky, disgraced, and envious of nearly everyone he can think of. Addressed to the beloved friend, the sonnet turns on a single thought of him, which lifts the speaker from self-loathing to joy.

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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,

When I'm out of favor with luck and with everyone around me, I sit all alone and cry over being an outcast, bother deaf heaven with useless cries, look at myself, and curse my fate.

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,5

Featur’d like him, like him with friends possess’d,

Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

I wish I were like someone with better prospects; I wish I had this man's looks and that man's friends; I envy one person's talent and another's opportunities — and the things I usually enjoy most satisfy me least.

Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,10

Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

Yet in the middle of these thoughts, when I almost hate myself, I happen to think of you — and then my spirit, like a lark rising at daybreak from the gloomy earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate.

For thy sweet love remember’d such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Remembering your sweet love brings me such wealth that I would refuse to trade places with kings.

Famous lines in this scene

“When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes” line 1

The famous opening captures total rock-bottom: 'disgrace with fortune' means bad luck, and 'men's eyes' means public contempt — the speaker feels both cursed and despised. The line is quoted whenever writers describe envy, failure, or depression, and it makes the sonnet's joyful turn hit much harder.

“Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;” line 11

The poem's turning point: one thought of the beloved sends the speaker's mood soaring like a lark, a bird famous for singing as it flies straight up at dawn. Rising from 'sullen earth' to 'heaven's gate' maps despair-to-joy onto ground-to-sky, making the happiness feel physical.

Confused by a different line? Paste any Shakespeare — any play, any edition — and get it in modern English.

Studying the language itself? Our Shakespearean English course teaches thou/thee, the verbs, and the meter — free through Unit 2. Or try the Shakespearean English translator.