2. Sonnet 29
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,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured 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;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, signs hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembere’d such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
3. When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, When I've fallen out of favor with fortune and men,
I all alone beweep my outcast state All alone I weep over my position as a social 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 I look at myself, cursing my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Wishing I were like one who had more hope,
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, Wishing I had this man's skill and that man's freedom.
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, with these thoughts – almost despising myself,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state, I, by chance, think of you and then my melancholy
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 dark earth and (I) sing hymns to heaven;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings For thinking of your love brings such happiness
That then I scorn to change my state with kings. That then I would not change my position in life with kings.
4. Translation in Marathi
जेव्हा मी दैव आणि पुरुष याांच्या पसांतीस पडलो नाही, तेव्हा मी
एकटाच सामाणजक आक्रोश म्हिून माझ्या स्थितीवर रडत असतो,
आणि स्वर्ाात प्रािाना करा, पि माझे रडिे ऐकले नाही,
आणि मी माझ्याकडे पहातो, माझ्या नणशबाला शाप देत,
ज्याच्याकडे जास्त आशा होती त्ाांच्यासारखी
मी शुभेच्छा देतो मी त्ाच्यासारखे णदसत होते. माझ्या णमत्राने वेढलेले आहे अशी इच्छा बाळर्ून,
या मनुष्याचे कौशल्य आणि त्ा मािसाचे स्वातांत्र्य मला णमळावे अशी इच्छा आहे.
मी सवाात जास्त आनांद घेत असलेल्या र्ोष्ीांसह मी समाधानी आहे.
परांतु, या णवचाराांसह - जवळजवळ माझा णतरस्कार करिे,
मी, योर्ायोर्ाने, तुमच्याबद्दल आणि नांतर माझ्या णवषमतेबद्दल णवचार करतो
णदवसाच्या ब्रेकमध्ये लाक
ा प्रमािे, उदय होते
र्डद पृथ्वीपासून आणि (मी) स्वर्ाात स्तोत्रे र्ातो;
आपल्या प्रेमाचा णवचार क
े ल्याने आनांद णमळतो
मर् मी राजाांशी आयुष्यातले माझे थिान बदलू शकिार नाही.
5. Introduction:
Sonnet 29 is one of the best sonnet written by William
Shakespeare. It is famous for its themes of love and
hopelessness. It was first published in 1609. The poem speaks
about an unfortunate man, frustrated with the present state of
his life. It also illustrates the power and impact of true love.
Anxiety, love, and jealousy are the major themes of the sonnet.
The poem also explains how love brings optimism and hope for
people who feel lonely and oppressed. In short, this sonnet is
also about self –motivation.
As a Shakespearean sonnet it consists of an octave and sestet.
6. Explanation:
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,
The emotional state of the speaker in Sonnet 29 is one of depression: in the first line, he assumes
himself to be "in disgrace with fortune," meaning he has been having bad luck. He also feels in
disgrace with "men's eyes," implying that the general public looks on him unfavorably. This could
be real or imagined, but it is enforced in line 2, when he bemoans his "outcast state." Here, "state"
refers to a state of being, and in this case, he is cast out from society.
Lines 3-4 make allusion to Job of the Old Testament in the Bible, who was cast out onto a dung
heap and called to a God who didn't listen. The poet finds himself in the same situation: Heaven
personified is God, and in this case he is "deaf," making the poet's cries "bootless," or useless. The
idea of cursing one's fate also hearkens to Job, who cursed himself after falling out of God's favor.
7. Featured 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;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
The speaker finds himself envying what others have, and in lines
5-9 he sees almost everyone as having something he lacks. He
wishes to be like "one more rich in hope," perhaps meaning
hopeful or literally wealthy; "featured like him," refers to
someone who is handsome, with beautiful features; and another
is "with friends possessed," or popular, unlike the poet (as has
been established in the first two lines). In line 7, he envies the
artistic talent of one man, and the opportunities afforded
someone else.
8. Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, signs hymns at heaven’s gate;
The simile of a lark is developed in lines 10-12, when the speaker
describes the effect that a thought of his love has on his "state,"
or emotional well-being. The fact that the lark rises from the
"sullen earth" at "break of day" implies that the day is much
happier than the night; day break is compared to the dawning of
a thought of the beloved. As the lark "sings hymns at heaven's
gate," so the poet's soul is invigorated with the thought of the
fair lord, and seems to sing to the sky with rejuvenated hope.
9. For thy sweet love remembere’d such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
The final couplet of Sonnet 29 declares that this joyfulness
brought about by a thought of the fair lord is enough to
convince the speaker that he is better off than royalty. Here,
"state" is a pun: it carries the meaning of emotional well-being,
as it did earlier in the poem, and suggests that the love of the
fair lord makes the speaker so happy that all the wealth of a king
would not be better. But it also refers to a nation, or a kingdom.
