Sonnet 29

While Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 upholds the cornerstones of the Shakespearean sonnet, it also embraces subtle yet impactful deviations from the norm, enriching the poem's meaning and emotional depth.

The first notable departure is the use of a single extended sentence that spans across all quatrains. This departure from the conventional approach mirrors the speaker's unchecked despair. Rather than neatly compartmentalizing his anxieties, the relentless flow of the sentence creates a sense of being trapped in a cycle of emotional turbulence, amplifying the speaker's unease.

In Shakespeare's sonnets, the volta usually comes at line 13, but in Sonnet 29, the volta comes at line 9. This deviation in form reiterates the speaker’s distress, which has led them to lose control of the language. By breaking away from formal expectations, Sonnet 29 engages the reader in the internal turmoil of the speaker, making the poem more dynamic and impactful.

The meter of "Sonnet 29" by William Shakespeare is primarily iambic pentameter, which consists of lines with ten syllables each, following an unstressed-stressed pattern. However, as is common in Shakespeare's works, there are moments of metrical variation that contribute to the emotional texture of the poem.

"When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes"—This line adheres to iambic pentameter with a regular rhythm.

"I all alone beweep my outcast state"—Similarly, this line maintains iambic pentameter without any metrical irregularities.

"And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries"—This line introduces metrical variation. The first four feet are iambic (unstressed-stressed), but the fifth foot starts with a trochee (stressed-unstressed) with "heaven." There is also a potential debate about whether "heaven" should be read as one or two syllables, adding further complexity.

"And look upon myself and curse my fate"—This line returns to a regular iambic pentameter, maintaining the established rhythmic pattern.

"Wishing me like to one more rich in hope"—This line starts with a trochee ("Wishing"), disrupting the expected iambic rhythm. The trochee serves to emphasize the speaker's yearning and desire.

"Featured like him, like him with friends possessed"—This line, too, begins with a trochee ("Featured"), introducing a rhythmic variation that enhances the emphasis on the speaker's longing.

"Desiring this man's art and that man's scope"—The iambic pentameter is restored in this line, maintaining a regular rhythm.

"With what I most enjoy contented least"—This line is iambic, following the established pattern.

"Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising"—The meter here is predominantly iambic, but the line has a feminine ending with an extra unstressed syllable, adding a subtle deviation.

"Haply I think on thee, and then my state,"—This line is iambic with a regular rhythm.

"Like to the lark at break of day arising"—The meter here is generally iambic, but there is a feminine ending with an additional unstressed syllable, contributing to a sense of lingering or extension.

"From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven's gate;"—This line is iambic, maintaining the established rhythm.

"For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings"—This line is iambic with a regular meter.

"That then I scorn to change my state with kings."—The final line is iambic, concluding the sonnet with a regular rhythmic pattern.

Sonnet 29 features a slight deviation from Shakespeare’s usual ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme. It follows the ABAB CDCD EBEB GG rhyme scheme, meaning lines 10 and 12 in the third quatrain rhyme with lines 2 and 4 in the first.