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.
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,
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,
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.
Sonnet 29 summary
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.
Famous lines in Sonnet 29, explained
- “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.
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About this translation: the original text follows the public-domain Project Gutenberg Globe edition; the modern English translation was written in-house for Polytranslator and is reviewed on an ongoing basis (last revised August 2026). Free to print and photocopy for classroom use. Cite as: “Sonnets, Sonnet 29. Polytranslator side-by-side translation, polytranslator.com/shakespeare/sonnets/sonnet-29.”
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Free side-by-side translation — polytranslator.com/shakespeare/sonnets/sonnet-29