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Sonnet · Love

Sonnet 29: When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes

by William Shakespeare · 1609

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,

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;

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;

For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

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Quick facts

Poem
Sonnet 29: When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
Poet
William Shakespeare
Published
1609
Length
14 lines
Form
Sonnet
Themes
Love, Sad, Hope

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape
14 lines · one 14-line stanza
Line length
Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record
William Shakespeare1564–1616
Source record
PoetryDBSonnet 29: When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes by william-shakespeare, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
1609
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 6d424a3875b15322
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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