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,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
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 remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
It sounds like the narrator is not satisfied with who he is. He would rather be like the people around him, which is implied by one of the lines, “Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope”. He seems to be jealous and not content with the life he is living. He says that he remembers what wealth brings, so he changes who he is because he wants to be like a king, with such wealth and nobility. I like the fact that the narrator fails to explain why he is feeling down, and what has caused his anguish. Maybe it could be the fact he is comparing himself to the people around him; he might believe they are better at doing something that he wishes he was better at. I like the ambiguity of the poem, and the fact that the narrator is very vague about any of the causes to his feelings forcing the reader to try to figure this out through the information he is presenting. I think at the end of the poem he is saying he has sweet love, “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings that then I scorn to change my state with kings,” but that wealth may bring more happiness for him; that he feels worthless when it comes to wealth, and wishes to change himself to become more like a king to feel no more disdain. Even though this poem was written a long time ago, it can still be relatable in some ways, like in the way some people feel worthless without power and wealth just like the narrator does.
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