Critical appreciation of the poem -sonnet 29 by william shakespeare
Answers
Sonnet 29 focuses on the speaker's initial state of depression, hopelessness and unhappiness in life and the subsequent recovery through happier thoughts of love.
The first eight lines are full of self-pity and negative impressions, whilst the final six lines are all about the positives sweet love brings that help drive despondency away.
There are several interesting differences in this sonnet - the metre (meter in USA) changes from the usual iambic pentameter several times, there are rare feminine endings to some lines and certain rhymes repeat.
So, an unusual Shakespearean sonnet, with profound insights into the emotional turmoil a human can experience when in love. As to who Shakespeare was in love with is a moot point. His sonnet sequence is supposedly inspired by the 'lovely boy' or the 'dark lady' but in truth we may never know, or need to know.
Suffice to say that the sonnets represent a magnificent, complex body of work and stand alone in the landscape of poetry, a world wonder.
Sonnet 29 speaks to all those who have felt that they are worthless or overshadowed by others they deem to be superior but who can overcome dark feelings by thinking of someone they love, who loves them in return.