Sonnet 130 Analysis
- Submitted by: celestepuren
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- Category: English: Shakespeare
- Date Submitted: 04/06/2013 05:35 AM
- Pages: 9
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Introduction:
At first glance, this poem resembles a typical love poem compiled during the era of William Shakespeare’s poetic reign – this can be noted because of the poems formal regularity in structure. Upon closer inspection; the words and their meanings reveal that this is not the case at all. In the following assignment, question by question I will expose the accurate meaning through close inspection, scrutiny and analysis.
Question 1:
This sonnet, like typical Shakespearean sonnets, comprises of 14 lines, which have been divided into three quatrains and one couplet towards the end. In the quatrains the rhyme scheme is a cross rhyme and the last two lines is a rhyming couplet.
a b a b c d c d e f e f g g
Question 2:
The tone of this poem is satirical. The poem as a whole is an elaborate joke on the conventions of love poetry typically found in Shakespeare’s time. It is a satirical scrutiny of the traditional idea of beauty. He uses this poem to undermine these conventions. Shakespeare is mocking the comparisons generally made between nature and the poet’s lover. He is pointing out how ridiculous these comparisons are. It is clearly shown as the poem starts that this poem is not conforming to the conventional love poems of that era. In the first two lines:
“My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red”
Here he is comparing his mistress’s eyes to the sun and her lips to the rich red of coral and finding no similarity. In typical sonnets dealing with love as a theme, the poets make use of hyperbole and elaborate comparisons to describe the beauty of their beloveds. In sonnet 130 this is not the case, Shakespeare is saying how foolish it is “Oh, your mistress’s eyes look like the sun? That’s funny my mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun.” These ridicules can be found throughout the sonnet from line 1 all the way through to line 12. Another example where he ridicules typical comparisons is in line...
At first glance, this poem resembles a typical love poem compiled during the era of William Shakespeare’s poetic reign – this can be noted because of the poems formal regularity in structure. Upon closer inspection; the words and their meanings reveal that this is not the case at all. In the following assignment, question by question I will expose the accurate meaning through close inspection, scrutiny and analysis.
Question 1:
This sonnet, like typical Shakespearean sonnets, comprises of 14 lines, which have been divided into three quatrains and one couplet towards the end. In the quatrains the rhyme scheme is a cross rhyme and the last two lines is a rhyming couplet.
a b a b c d c d e f e f g g
Question 2:
The tone of this poem is satirical. The poem as a whole is an elaborate joke on the conventions of love poetry typically found in Shakespeare’s time. It is a satirical scrutiny of the traditional idea of beauty. He uses this poem to undermine these conventions. Shakespeare is mocking the comparisons generally made between nature and the poet’s lover. He is pointing out how ridiculous these comparisons are. It is clearly shown as the poem starts that this poem is not conforming to the conventional love poems of that era. In the first two lines:
“My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red”
Here he is comparing his mistress’s eyes to the sun and her lips to the rich red of coral and finding no similarity. In typical sonnets dealing with love as a theme, the poets make use of hyperbole and elaborate comparisons to describe the beauty of their beloveds. In sonnet 130 this is not the case, Shakespeare is saying how foolish it is “Oh, your mistress’s eyes look like the sun? That’s funny my mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun.” These ridicules can be found throughout the sonnet from line 1 all the way through to line 12. Another example where he ridicules typical comparisons is in line...