In last Wednesday’s post regarding the game Shove Half Penny, at the end of the excerpt I provided, we have this tidbit of conversation between Darcy and Elizabeth:
“All on your shoulders, Lizzy,” Mr. Bennet whispered, but they had heard him. “Just do not bet on love.”
“I have never bet on love, Papa,” the lady said with complete seriousness. “In truth, I know very little of affection beyond a Shakespeare sonnet or two.”
“Your favorite sonnet, Miss Elizabeth?” Darcy asked, though doing so before an audience had been pure whimsy.
As if the result was scripted, the lady placed her coin on the board. Eyeing the only open bed—the second to the last one on Fitzwilliam’s side, she studied the space, as if she was willing her success.
At length, she released her breath in a steady exhale and with a quick press of the heel of her hand, she sent her ha’penny sliding across the board’s polished surface to land dead center in the only bed still available.
His cousin groaned and covered his eyes with his hands.
Miss Mary declared, “Unbelievable!”
Mr. Bennet exclaimed, “I taught her everything I know!”
Darcy said, “Well done, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Sonnet 29, Mr. Darcy,” she announced, “is my favorite.” As she pranced past him, under her breath, she retorted, “I am confident a man of your intelligence also knows it by heart.”
So what makes this particular sonnet so special and appropriate for this tales? “Sonnet 29” is a poem written by William Shakespeare, written in the 1590s, though it was not published until 1609. Like many of Shakespeare’s sonnets, “Sonnet 29” is a love poem. It is also traditionally believed to have been written for a young man. Unlike some of Shakespeare’s other love poems, however, which are concerned with physical beauty and erotic desire, “Sonnet 29” is about the power of love to positively affect one’s mindset, as the poem argues that love offers compensation for the injuries and setbacks one endures in life. All of this speaks to the give-and-take happening between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. They have met some five + years earlier – one night and one dance, but the impression of each on the other has never lessened.
Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes [Poetry Foundation]
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.
****************************************************
So what does it mean? Lit Chart gives us this translation:
“Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes” Summary…
Whenever my luck turns bad and people look down on me
I sit by myself and cry because I’m all alone,
And I pray to God, who doesn’t listen or answer my prayers,
And I look at my life and curse the way it’s turned out,
Wishing that I was like someone with better prospects,
That I was more beautiful, that I had more influential friends,
Wishing that I had this man’s skill and that one’s range of skills,
And even the things I love best don’t bring me any pleasure;
Yet whenever I think like this, almost hating myself,
I think about you and then I feel
Like a bird at the break of day that flies up
From the ground, and sings songs at the pearly gates,
Because thinking about your love brings so much richness to my life
That I would rather have it than be king.
Check out the 2005 Mr. Darcy, Matthew Macfadyen reading the poem on You Tube, and you will never forget the experience. I heard Matthew’s voice when I was writing the scene that follows the one above where Mr. Darcy attempts to reason with himself regarding his slight “obsession” with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You will have to purchase the book to see how this all turns out. LOL!
Book Blurb and Purchase Links:
Leave Her Wild: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary
A Mandate from His Uncle
The only reason Fitzwilliam Darcy has come to London for the Short Season is to save his beloved Pemberley. He requires a bride fast. Unfortunately, only a man’s of Darcy’s prideful nature would laggardly think one female is the same as another. Quickly, he realizes he is in love with his betrothed’s hazel-eyed and highly-opinionated sister, and he has proposed to the wrong sister, but propriety demands he must not abandon Miss Jane Bennet.
Sitting on the Shelf
After Lydia’s elopement with Mr. Wickham and the family’s ruin, Elizabeth Bennet understands the need for her sister Jane to marry well, but why must Jane bring home the one man Elizabeth both despises and loves? Elizabeth’s one ball…one dance…had been ruined by the man her sister means to marry. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy’s opinion remains the marker by which she looks upon all others. Can she deny the tender feelings she carries for the gentleman and silence her traitorous heart?
Note: The title comes from a quote from the poet Atticus on Instagram.
Kindle – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQL8CJ2R
Comment below for a chance to win one of FIVE eBook copies available for the giveaway of Leave Her Wild. Winners will be chosen on Saturday, February 8, with the books delivered on February 10, 2025, when the tale goes live on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Regina will contact the winners by email. Good Luck!
Every Woman Dreams... 
I really cannot wait to read this story!
Hopefully, it will quickly become one of your favorites.
Congrats on the upcoming release!
Thanks, this book generally wrote itself. It was like when I wrote Losing Lizzy. I could not put it on the page fast enough.
Will we red a scene in the story that fits the beautiful cover?
oops, should be read not red – haha
I have a poor understanding of poems in general so I’m glad that you shared the explanation to Sonnet 29 too, Regina. The cover is very dreamy to look at and I assume it depicts Elizabeth. Does the castle represent Pemberley or another landmark in your new novel?
Sylvia, it is more a depiction of Elizabeth thinking herself on the outside and looking in at her poor prospects.
It personifies the life of which Elizabeth dreams after her first meeting with Darcy. She on the outside and looking in.