Julia Craig: Shakespeare: Remembrance

WHEN to the sessions of sweet silent thought

I summon up remembrance of things past,

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,

And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste;

Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,

For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,

And weep afresh love's long-since-cancell'd woe,

And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight.

Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,

And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er

The sad account of fore-bemoanèd moan,

Which I new pay as if not paid before:

—But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,

All losses are restored, and sorrows end.

This poem is very interesting because Shakespeare is obviously reminiscing on moments past. So many people look back on memories and wish it had gone differently. “I sigh the lack of many a thing sought.” So often do we regret not taking opportunities given to us. Things in our past can spark new emotions. There are certain things we will never get over and Shakespeare knows it. However, he doesn’t want to leave us in a state of despair so he ends on a note that indicates that an individual seems to be able to wipe away all those hurting memories and emotions.