Beginning of Essay
Shakespeare's sonnets, as poems, have been obscured by the enormous amount of speculation, much of it unjustified, that has grown up around the problems presented by the dedication. The following sonnet is commonly grouped with 125 others that are believed to ha ....

Middle of Essay
.... poet speaks of himself as being out of luck, and/or money and not well received by his fellow man. He has taken to crying about his social ostracism in line two. In an attempt to clarify for himself why he is in such a state he “ troubles” heaven with his “bootless” or useless cries. But as the poet has made clear heaven turns a deaf ear and no response is forthcoming. Again he becomes introspective and curses his fate. This first quatrain has given us an image of a grown man “down and out” if you will, who is accepting no responsibility for his life's station. By the second quatrain the poet has taken to wishing he were more ....