“Sonnet 30” was written by the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. First published in 1609 as part of a sequence of 154 sonnets, “Sonnet 30” was most likely written in the early 1590s. At this time, Shakespeare was a young playwright, recently arrived in London. Despite its author’s youth and inexperience, the poem broods on life's disappointments. For the speaker of the poem, even thinking about such sorrows brings them back with all their original pain and power. Only one thing offers solace and comfort in the face of such pain—the love the speaker feels for a “dear friend.”
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The Full Text of “Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought”
1When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
2I summon up remembrance of things past,
3I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
4And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
5Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
6For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
7And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
8And moan th' expense of many a vanish'd sight;
9Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
10And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
11The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
12Which I new pay as if not paid before.
13But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
14All losses are restor'd, and sorrows end.
The Full Text of “Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought”
1When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
2I summon up remembrance of things past,
3I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
4And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
5Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
6For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
7And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
8And moan th' expense of many a vanish'd sight;
9Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
10And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
11The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
12Which I new pay as if not paid before.
13But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
14All losses are restor'd, and sorrows end.
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“Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Summary
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“Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Themes
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The Pain of Memory
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The Power of Love
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought”
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Lines 1-4
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste: -
Lines 5-8
Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan th' expense of many a vanish'd sight; -
Lines 9-12
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before. -
Lines 13-14
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd, and sorrows end.
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“Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Symbols
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Night
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“Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Caesura
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Metaphor
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Apostrophe
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Polyptoton
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“Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Sessions
- Remembrance
- Lack
- Old Woes
- New Wail
- Drown An Eye
- Unus'd
- Dateless
- Afresh
- Th'expense
- Foregone
- O'er
- Fore-bemoaned
- Thee
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Speaker
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“Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought”
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More “Sonnet 30: When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” Resources
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External Resources
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The 1609 Edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets — A complete facsimile of the first printing of Shakespeare's Sonnets, the 1609 Quarto.
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Shakespeare's Sonnets — A brief essay on Shakespeare's Sonnets by Don Patterson in the Guardian Newspaper.
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A Biography of Shakespeare — The Folger Shakespeare Library provides a detailed overview of Shakespeare's life, with links to more resources.
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Did Shakespeare Want to Suppress His Sonnets? — At NPR, Lynn Neary considers the complicated publication history of Shakespeare's Sonnets.
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"Sonnet 30" Read Aloud — Patrick Stewart recites Shakespeare's "Sonnet 30."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Shakespeare
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