Sonnet 29: "When in disgrace
with fortune and men's eyes"
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 myself 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 king'.
I am listening to a history of English literature and sometimes I need a bit of Shakespeare to remind me how beautiful language can be.
1 comment:
I love that cartoon...
Dr. Samuel Johnson, however, didn't agree with you. He said, "Shakespeare never had six lines together without a fault. Perhaps you may find seven, but this does not refute my general assertion."
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