Sweet sorrow
Sweet sorrow means sadness mixed with pleasure, especially the pain of parting from someone loved; it appears in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The goodbye hurts, but affection and the hope of meeting again make it pleasant too.
Where it comes from
Juliet’s reluctant goodbye
The phrase appears in Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet describes the mixed feelings of parting from Romeo. Leaving him is painful, but their love gives the farewell its sweetness.
In the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet keeps drawing out the farewell, reluctant to let Romeo leave even though they hope to meet again.
In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
A happy change that still hurts
Today, sweet sorrow can describe a farewell or ending that brings both happiness and loss. It need not involve romantic love.
In Little Women, Jo struggles with Meg’s approaching marriage because she fears losing their old closeness. Meg’s happiness comes with a painful change in the sisters’ life together.
In Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott
How to use Sweet sorrow
- Choose a farewell or ending with both pleasure and sadness.
- Make clear what feels sweet and what feels painful.
- Save the phrase for mixed feelings, not grief alone.
Free for 3 months
200,000+ classics. Every format, free to start.
eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and any book printed at cost, large print too.
Is sweet sorrow an oxymoron?
Yes, sweet sorrow is an oxymoron because it joins words that seem to contradict each other. Sweet suggests pleasure, while sorrow means sadness. Together they name a familiar experience: something can hurt precisely because it matters so much.
Does sweet sorrow always mean saying goodbye?
No, sweet sorrow can describe other experiences that mix pleasure with sadness. Remembering a happy childhood or reaching the end of a much-loved book may bring that feeling. A farewell is its best-known use because of Juliet’s parting from Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.
Related terms
Books where you can see Sweet sorrow
Free for 3 months
200,000+ classics. Every format, free to start.
eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and any book printed at cost, large print too.
200,000+ classics to read and hear, and printed books, large print included, at cost.
Try 3 months free
