Sonnet 30

This is an extremely regretful sonnet of Shakespeare’s. The speaker seems to be reflecting on his life of sorrow. It appears that after years of repressing his emotions, he is finally releasing all of the built-up grief and pain. Sitting alone, all of his past experiences have come back to haunt him. He wishes he could change many events about his life- such as wasted time or the death of a loved one –even though he knows it to be impossible.  Despite the years that have passed, the pain of these incidents still stings. The only thing that seems to help pull him through the pain is his friend, the reader. He states just thinking of him eases the pain of the losses in his life.