Meter in Sonnet 29

“This” and “that" are both stressed syllables in this line. The emphasis placed on these demonstrative pronouns suggests a specific object for the speaker’s jealousy and conveys the feeling of the speaker’s frantically shifting gaze.

The extra syllable in the middle of this line throws off its iambic pentameter. The extra syllable comes from inserting “deaf” between “trouble” and “heaven.” This calls attention to the speaker’s helplessness and the tragedy of his plight: though he knows Heaven to be deaf, he cannot help but cry out to it.

The internal rhyme within this line works against its readability. In “I all alone,” the “I” blends with the double “L” in all. “All” and “alone” repeat the same syllable and make the three words indistinguishable. “All” is inserted between “I” and “alone’ to stress the first syllable in “alone” within the second iamb. Conforming to iambic pentameter within this line makes the line less strong and undermines the speaker’s poetic prowess.