TimeWhen to the sessions of sweet silent thoughtI 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 cancelled 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'erThe sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,Which I new pay as if not paid before.But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,All losses are restor'd and sorrows end.

MissingI grieve the father that I never knew.He left one day; now an imposter stays.His warmth cannot deceive me. Hes not youYet I see you in his ill, sunken gaze.I do not think we are defined by fate -So then, where have you gone, you runner? Come!You said youd never leave! But I will waitfor countless lifetimes for you to come home.I lost my father seven years ago;A child, I had no knowledge of my grief.I could not fathom melancholy so;Now with eyes open, I rest in relief.For knowledge brings solution. And one dayI will not mourn you when I look your way. Jessica Tang

In Sonnet 30, the speaker releases his burdensome grief by focusing on his friends: grief cannot weigh a person down forever. William Shakespeare vividly portrays the speakers struggle with depression through dynamic consonance and harmony of sounds. In the first two lines, consonance - sessions, sweet silent thought, summon - leave a smooth sibilance snaking through the readers mind. It stays, sinister, as the reader continues on, reminiscent of the lingering nature of grief and memory. Wail, waste, and woe create a soft, sluggish feel, as the numbness that often accompanies strong emotions. The term many a vanishd sight is full of soft vowels. This euphony gives the rather anguished mood of the poem a more subdued tone than it might have had. The speaker does not lose hope, however. The consonance in the last line rings with the reader, soft like muted church bells; it shows the positive effect of the speakers friend on the speaker with its soft, comforting tone, leaving a hopeful lilt at the end. It is true everyone is subject to loss and grief; however, by focusing on the friends you have instead of friends youve lost - on the present instead of the past - one may find solace in their sadness.