Once I lose my happiness and am looked down upon,
Crying alone, complaining that people abandoned me,
Let the deaf heaven cry in vain,
Look at yourself, only hate bad luck,
I wish I were like everyone else: or have a bright future,
Or beauty, or friends like clouds,
Want to have this person's authority, that person's talent,
I am most satisfied with myself, but most dissatisfied;
But in this almost demeaning thought,
I think of you occasionally, my heart.
Suddenly, like a lark at dawn, it flies from the gloomy land.
Rush to Tianmen and sing hymns;
I remember that your sweet love is a treasure,
Teach me to disdain to change the situation with the emperor.
(translated by Tu An)
Love is the most beautiful emotion of human beings. Everyone has his own love, and the love of poets is often deeper and stronger than that of ordinary people.
In this poem, the poet pours out his feelings to the people he loves, adopts the expression of "suppressing first and then promoting", advances layer by layer, ups and downs, and describes his changing and developing thoughts and feelings. In the first four sentences, he first lamented that he was ill-fated and left out in the cold, showing his indifference to the world. The next four sentences express the poet's deep sense of inferiority, feeling ashamed of himself and complaining about others, reaching the extreme and almost unable to extricate himself. However, the tone of the poem suddenly changed in the next few sentences. Once the poet saw the image of the person he loved in his heart, he was refreshed and radiant, freed from pessimism and disappointment, and sang cheerful and lively songs. Just like a lark spreading its wings in the morning, it sent away the cloudy night and ushered in a brilliant dawn. The last two sentences sum up the whole article, which is in sharp contrast with the beginning of the poem. From depression to excitement, from sadness to joy, from inferiority to pride, and even the king position that many people in the world dreamed of later, the poet disdained it. Such a dramatic change has fully proved how powerful pure love can be.
It can be said that this is an outstanding poem that eulogizes love. By describing the ups and downs of the poet's emotional changes, the whole poem praises the true love that can give people encouragement, hope and confidence. However, according to scholars' textual research and research, most of Shakespeare's sonnets, including this one, are actually written to the poet's good friend, a handsome young man. In this way, this poem is not about pure love between men and women, but about sincere friendship between close friends. However, when we read Shakespeare's poems, we mainly appreciate them as works of art, not as a record of the author's real life experience. As far as the poem itself is concerned, readers can regard it as a poem praising love or friendship according to their own appreciation interest. No matter what choice you make, it will not affect your artistic appreciation of poetry. Love and friendship can give people courage and strength in the difficult and tortuous journey of life. Anyway, the love described here is not a temporary indulgence, but a deep and pure feeling; The friendship expressed here is not a casual acquaintance, but a strong and sincere friendship. Perhaps it is for this reason that this poem has been deeply loved by readers and is one of the most frequently quoted poems in Shakespeare's sonnets.
According to (Xu)