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Theme Of Sonnet 29

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Throughout life, people will inevitably go through ups and downs and may turn to someone they trust to give them good advice and comfort. Within “Sonnet 29” and “Sonnet 30” Shakespeare focuses on the troubles of life and depression. Furthermore, he speaks about the power of friendships during trials. Through the use of diction and tone, Shakespeare suggests that it is only with true friendship that one can overcome sadness. To begin with, the speaker uses diction in “Sonnet 29” to highlight and show his difficulties in life. By using descriptive language, he emphasize how little he has, “Wishing me like to one more rich in hope / featured like him, like him with friends possessed, / desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope” (lines …show more content…

The speaker looks at death as a dateless night allowing the reader to understand that the speaker will never again get to see his beloved friends and this causes him great pain. He says that he begins to moan those that have vanished and becomes even more depressed in his thoughts. He goes on to write, “Then can I grieve at grievances foregone, / and heavily from woe to woe tell o’er / the sad account of fore-bemoaned moan” (9-11). Continuing on the thought of grief the speaker starts to spiral further down into his darkest emotions, reliving past tragedies of losing friends that were so dear to him. He weeps and retells the stories becoming very distraught. At the very end of “Sonnet 30” the speaker thinks back on his friend that is still alive and says “But if the wile I think on thee dear friend, / all losses are restor'd, and sorrows end” (13-14). When the speaker thinks on his friend, immediately those sorrows are removed from him and he is filled up with happiness. All losses are restored and the sorrow is ended because of his friendship with this man. The thought of this man is enough for the speaker to conquer his past demons and move on. Additionally, the theme of friendship becomes more explicit through the use of tone that both “Sonnet 29” and “Sonnet 30”

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