When In Disgrace

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee--and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with kings. 

-Shakespeare 

This was one of the poems recommended to me by my teacher. In the analysis of this poem, I don't intend to interpret the individual lines of the poem from Elizabethan English into more modern English, as the lines themselves are quite easy to understand in themselves. Instead, I intend to interpret the meaning of the entire poem, as well as the interesting and original aspects of the themes expressed in it.
When I first read it, I was interested in the idea of the poem, how the poet is doing badly, and how he wishes he had the life of the rich and prosperous people he sees. Yet, his thoughts of the person he loves make him think his life is not so bad after all, and he then laughs at the idea of having the life of the others.
Upon reading it several more times, I realized just how interesting and original this love poem is. It manages to express the love the poet feels for the person, without using hyperbole, or extensive or obscure metaphor. The love felt by the poet it not expressed in an incredibly direct manner; the theme of the poem is, "Your love makes me happier than other people with their riches.", yet nowhere does it directly say that. Instead, it allows the reader to come to the conclusion themselves, without making it hard to come to that conclusion. The poem expresses the idea contained within it by being neither aggressive and direct, or vague and confusing. This, in my opinion, makes it a powerful and original love poem.