SONNET 130
William Shakespeare
Sonnet 130
◦ Sonnet 130 comes in a group of sonnets by
William Shakespeare commonly referred to as
The Dark Lady Sonnets.
◦ In the era it was common for poetry authors
to exaggerate the beauty of their subjects, but in
Sonnet 130, Shakespeare gives a very realistic
depiction of his Dark Lady
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.
Shakespeare starts the sonnet by describing his lover, but
unlike the other romance poets of the era, the beauty isn’t
exaggerated.
Her eyes are not as bright as the sun.
The red of the coral is much redder than the red of her lips.
Her breasts are dull and grey, very unlike the whiteness of
the snow.
And her hair is like black wires coming from her head.
While our poet has seen roses in a beautiful
pink color, a mix of red and white, his
lover’s cheeks hold no such hue, and while
perfumes smell delightful, her breath
certainly does not. She has a voice that is
not melodious like songs, and her gait is
heavy, unlike the goddesses who step
lightly.
Sonnet 130 keeps in tune with the themes
that a traditional sonnet would have. The
themes of beauty and love are present.
The difference between Sonnet 130 and
others is the realism.
AND YET, BY
HEAVEN, I
THINK MY
LOVE AS RARE
AS ANY SHE
BELIED WITH
FALSE
COMPARE.
The praises of the subject’s
beauty is still there, he still
loves his muse, but it would be
untruthful and ultimately it
would not do justice to his
muse to exaggerate her beauty.
If he were to make false
comparisons, it would make
his love ingenuine, and he
recognizes that.
References
Spacey, A. (2018, July 05). Analysis of Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare. Retrieved
April 29, 2021, from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Sonnet-130-byWilliamShakespeare
Barents, K. (n.d.). William Shakespeare 101 by KEVIN BARENTS. Retrieved
April
29, 2021, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/90061/William- shakespeare101