Sonnet 30, in which the speaker reflects wistfully on his own life but is comforted by the thought of his friend, was first published in Shakespeare’s 1609 Quarto. Like the other sonnets in the collection, Sonnet 30 is made up of 14 lines: three four-line quatrains and one couplet. The sonnet is written in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
The first 126 sonnets of the Quarto focus on a person known to Shakespeare scholars as the Fair Youth or the Young Man. Sonnet 30 describes him simply as “dear friend.” Other sonnets provide more details about this friend, describing him as attractive and virtuous. Sonnet 30 is different in that it is more focused on the speaker’s own state of mind. He describes his sadness over things he has lost in his life. It is only in the final couplet that the speaker turns to the friend. He says that thinking of this friend makes all the things he has lost come back to him again. Just the thought of the friend is enough to end his sorrow.
Some critics consider the conclusion of the sonnet unconvincing. It is often compared unfavorably to Sonnet 29, the previous sonnet in the collection. This more famous sonnet also describes how the speaker’s sad mental state is healed by the thought of the friend, yet it dedicates equal space to both themes. In Sonnet 30, the first 12 lines are about the speaker's disappointment and sorrow, while the final couplet quickly argues that all this pain is soothed by the Young Man.
