Sonnet 130

 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.

Sonnet 130 satirizes the concept of ideal beauty that was a convention of literature and art in general during the Elizabethan era. Influences originating with the poetry of ancient Greece and Rome had established a tradition of this, which continued in Europe's customs of courtly love and in courtly poetry, and the work of poets such as Petrarch. It was customary to praise the beauty of the object of one's affections with comparisons to beautiful things found in nature and heaven, such as stars in the night sky, the golden light of the rising sun, or red roses.[2] The images conjured by Shakespeare were common ones that would have been well-recognized by a reader or listener of this sonnet.

 

Shakespeare's poetry "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" is the more evocative work of poetry as it possesses vivid imagery which easily invokes a rich sensory experience in the reader.  

Visually stimulating words such as 'coral,' 'roses' 'red', 'snow' 'white', and 'wires' 'black' immediately allows the reader to experience the recounting of strong primary colours and graphic images. The olfactory senses gets triggered too as seen in the combination of 'perfume', 'breath', and 'reek'; which may also have gustatory elements embedded in it. Furthermore, auditory and kinaesthetic imagery is introduced in succession to the mix with 'speak' and the 'pleasing sound' of 'music', followed by the latter 'walks' and 'treads on the ground'. This litter of descriptive elements help to reel in the reader by painting a vibrant scene, which resurfaces universal sensory emotions and that most readers can relate to.  

Shakespeare doesn't stop with rich layers of imagery; he juxtaposes them in contrast to the form of the narrator's lover, thus effectively bringing to relief the comparison between the existing false 'ideal' of beauty and the true reality of what beauty really is. Although we initially feel that the poem seems to describe the mistress in a somewhat unflattering way, this isn't the case the poem brings about, as it only states what she isn't but specify doesn't bother to say what she is. In the poem, the hyperboles used are extremes, coral-red is undoubtedly redder than human lips and snow-white whiter than human skin, but this juxtaposition only serves to illuminate and negate the popular ideal of beauty (where snow-white skin and coral-red lips exist as an exaggeration,) and doesn't offer a clear standard in response. This sparks a revelation in the readers as they get hooked to reread the poem and question the existing social construct prompting us to have set preconceptions of beauty. In this manner, Shakespeare expunges the skewed representation of beauty prevalent in many works of poetry during his time and allows readers to view 'poetical beauty' in the intriguing light of a realistic perspective. Hence, his satirical viewpoint concerning the social norm and ambiguity regarding the mistress invites readers to guess and delve into the poem's figurative idea of beauty that, at first, dangles enticingly out of reach. 

On the other hand, the alliterative devices such as 'white, why', 'My mistress, when she walks', 'roses…red' , 'grant…goddess go' are employed to maintain a rhythmic gait compounded in the poem's iambic pentameter. This also goes hand in hand with the repetition of words. For example, the colours 'red' and 'white' and the word 'wires' are repeated in the first four lines to act as stressors (signifying the conventional hallmarks of beauty) as well as to remind readers that the rhythm of the poem is infused with the thematic role of imagery to draw the reader's attention. Interestingly enough, the gait of the poem is interrupted in the middle of the poem (lines 5-8) with anastrophes over a layer of enjambment. This break in lines and rearrangement of words ('But no such roses see I in her cheeks', 'And in some perfumes is there more delight') arouses the reader's interest as it emphasises certain words at the end of the lines while still pulling the reader through with an unbroken flow of thought. This clever use of the anastrophe and enjambment upsets the overall flow of the poem and brings in fresh attention mid-poem, compelling readers to continue reading. 

 

 

 According to Carl Atkins, many early editors took the sonnet at face value and believed that it was simply a disparagement of the writer's mistress.^[10] However, William Flesch believes that the poem is actually quite the opposite, and acts as a compliment. He points out that many poems of the day seem to compliment the object of the poem for qualities that they really don't have, such as snow white skin or golden hair.^[11] He states that people really don't want to be complimented on a quality they don't have, e.g. an old person doesn't want to be told they are physically young, they want to be told they are youthful, in behavior or in looks. Flesch notes that while what Shakespeare writes of can seem derisive, he is in reality complimenting qualities the mistress truly exhibits, and he ends the poem with his confession of love.

What is your reaction to the poem?

a) why so? Themes?

-diction: 

-tone: 

-imagery: 

-sound: consonance,

-form: 

What is your understanding of the poem?
a) What is it about? 

-how much of your understanding is influenced by your position?