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Summary ‘Sonnet 130’ by William Shakespeare
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‘Sonnet 130’ by William Shakespeare
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1. My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;2. Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
3. If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
4. If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
5. I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
6. But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
Speaker:
7. And in some perfumes is there more delight
8. Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. An anonymous
9. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know lover
10. That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
11. I grant I never saw a goddess go,
12. My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground: Rhyme:
13. And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare, abab cdcd efef gg
14. As any she belied with false compare.
Main idea: Hyperbole:
The main idea in Sonnet 130 is to challenge those poets who use too much One technique used in Sonnet 130 is
hyperbole when describing their loves. The use of hyperbole and cliché hyperbole, because the speaker
originated with the poetry of ancient Greece and Rome. exaggerates his love's weaknesses
Sonnet 130 is remarkable because, rather than her strength. ... At the end
of the sonnet he explains that this
Sonnet 130 is a kind of inverted love poem. It implies that the woman is means his love is truer, because he
very beautiful indeed but suggests that it is important for this poet to view can see her shortcomings and still love
the woman he loves realistically. ... The poet wants to view his mistress her.
realistically and praise her beauty in real terms.
, Sonnet 130
Massage:
William Shakespeare
This sonnet compares the
speaker's lover to a number of
1. My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; other beauties—and never in the
2. Coral is far more red, than her lips red: Irony: lover's favour. Her eyes are
3. If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; “nothing like the sun,” her lips
Shakespeare mainly uses the
4. If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. are less red than coral;
verbal irony in sonnet 130.
5. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, compared to white snow, her
Actually, verbal irony means the
6. But no such roses see I in her cheeks; breasts are dun-coloured, and
poet or speaker of the poem
7. And in some perfumes is there more delight her hairs are like black wires on
says one thing but he or she
8. Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. her head.
actually means another
9. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
meaning. For instance, in the
10. That music hath a far more pleasing sound: poem where his mistress eyes
11. I grant I never saw a goddess go, are comparing with the sun, Lips
12. My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground: with coral, Breast with snow and
13. And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare, blackness with wire hair.
14. As any she belied with false compare.
Summary “Sonnet 130” is a Shakespearean sonnet that develops an argument through three quatrains. The conclusion to
the argument is in the rhyming couplet at the end. Shakespeare parodies the sonnet conventions of his time: instead of
idealising his mistress, he describes her in sincere terms. Ultimately, though, he proclaims a devoted love for her. In this
sonnet, Shakespeare mocks metaphorical clichés by telling the truth about the appearance of his mistress. The typical
English rose would not have a “dun” complexion or have “wires” for hair. Shakespeare uses the sonnet’s rigid rhythm and
rhyme structure to build to his conclusion. The final couplet insists that real love does not need false tributes or conceits and
any woman can be beautiful. Gr-11--ANTHOLOGY-2020.
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