other men. He cries to God, but he feels that God cannot hear him ("deaf heaven"). He feels that his prayers are useless, that they are a waste of time ("bootless"). So, he curses himself and his misfortune (or "fate").
In the second quatrain, the speaker compares himself to other men. Some men seem to have greater prospects or opportunities for the future. They have more "hope" (line 5). Other men might be more attractive: they have more pleasing physical features (line 6). And some men have many friends (also in line 6). Some men have greater skills or talents or "art" (line 7) while other men may have greater intellect or insight into life ("scope" in line 7). Thus, the speaker is miserable. He has a low sense of self worth. He does not feel that he is as good or worthwhile as anybody else is. He is in the midst of a severe depression or even despair. Even those activities that he enjoyed in the past can bring him no pleasure ("contented least"). There is almost nothing or no one that can make him happy.
Yet, there is one person who can save him from his despair: the young man.
In the sestet, the speaker states that at times, when he gets to a point where he actually hates himself ("despising" himself), then he thinks about the young man ("thee"). Then his emotions and attitudes change completely. The speaker uses the simile of the lark, the bird that sings happily at sunrise. The imagery associated with this simile suggests the blackness of night turning into the