Summary
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 30” is a reflection on the speaker’s past experiences and memories, focusing particularly on moments of sorrow and loss. The sonnet begins with the speaker reminiscing, especially about disappointments and failures. Remembering these incidents also brings back the powerful pain associated with them. He remembers other losses and regrets, which haunt his memory. The intensity of these sorrows cannot be confined to the past, and thinking about this brings back the pain afresh. He weeps over former loves and cries over the pain of many faded memories. He mourns these losses as if he hadn’t mourned them earlier. The final lines of the sonnet, however, are hopeful, as the speaker declares that thinking about his dear friend will heal all his wounds and end his pain.
