Poem translation
The language used in William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 29” may seem complex and old-fashioned due to its age. The following is a paraphrase or translation of the poem into modern English, with special attention given to more difficult words and phrases in the line by line analysis.
Stanza 1
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,
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Stanza 2
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
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Stanza 3
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) s...