Sonnet 130
William Shakespeare
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Important Poetry Terms
1. Speaker/Persona
2. Audience
3. Conflict
4. Figurative Language
a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Personification
d. Hyperbole
e. Alliteration
5. Sound Devices
a. Alliteration
b. Onomatopoeia
6. Tone
7. Diction
8. Imagery
9. Details
10.
Denotation
11.
Connotation
12.
Syntax
13.
Rhyme
14.
Rhyme Scheme
15.
Internal rhyme
16.
End rhyme
17.
Slant Rhyme
18.
Stanza
a. Couplet
b. Quatrain
c. Sestet
d. Octave
19.
Rhymed Verse
20.
Unrhymed verse
21.
Fixed Form
a. Haiku
b. Ballad
c. Sonnet
d. Epic
e. Lyric
f. Narrative
22.
Free Verse
23.
Meter
24.
Blank Verse
25.
Theme
26.
Paradox
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
1. Title: Predict the meaning of the title. Since there is no descriptive title you can look
at the first line of the poem.
2. Paraphrase: Line by line rewrite in your own words
a. Also important for a paraphrase is identifying the speaker/persona, the
audience, and the central conflict.
3. Connotations:
a. Figurative Language: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole
alliteration
b. Sound Devices: Alliteration, onomatopoeia
4. Attitude: Tone=DIDLS
a. Diction—What key words are chosen? What do these words suggest? Are
they nouns or verbs?
b. Imagery
c. Details—What details does the author choose to give? What details are not
provided?
d. Language—Identify differences in the denotation and connotation.
e. Sentence Structure (Syntax)—Identify sentences with an inverted subject or
other types of syntax
5. Structure and Shifts:
a. Structure:
i. Rhyme—provides a type of structure; Rhyme scheme, internal rhyme,
end rhyme, slant rhyme
ii. Stanzas and stanza types
iii. Forms of poetry
1. Rhymed vs unrhymed
2. Fixed form vs. free verse (haiku, ballad, sonnet, epic, lyric
narrative)
iv. Meter (blank verse)
b. Shifts: indicated by changes in diction, tone, structure
6. Title again: interpret the title based upon the whole poem
7. Theme: ___________, a poem by ___________ , is about ______________ and reveals that
___________________________________. (Introduce “Paradox” as part of the theme for “My
Mistress’ Eyes”)