Shakespearean Sonnet 130 Explication

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Lauren Sprouse

Weibly C-Block, AP Eng. IV

November 11, 2002

Shakespearean Sonnet 130 Explication

Shakespeare’s one hundred and thirtieth sonnet – “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” is one of the most insightful and powerful poems of all time.  Reminding the reader that love is not found in the red of lips or the roses of the cheeks, this sonnet almost pokes fun at the standard “ideal woman”. Shakespeare’s use of structure, unique language, rhythm and rhyme and numerous other effects all contributed towards developing the meaning, form and content of the poem.
          In “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” Shakespeare forms an argument against the then popular conventions to flatter one’s lover with praise of her beauty, as well as make comments about the way that love between two people can be expressed and interpreted. He compares an ideal woman to a woman who is by no means physically perfect to emphasize that love is deeper and more important than these superficial comparisons. While his mistress may not have had silky hair or sweet breath, he is still completely captivated by her and considers his love to be as rare as any other: “And yet by heaven I think my love as rare…”.
        The structure of the sonnet is in the form of a eight-line octet followed by a six-line sestet. In the octet, Shakespeare presents his imperfect lover and compares her to the usual objects: “If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.”  In each case, a picture of a perfect woman is presented and then quickly taken away and replaced by one that is less attractive. For example, the line: “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun” instantly presents a picture of a beautiful, snow-white woman (a convention of a traditional love poem), but then that picture suddenly vanishes, leaving us with a woman with dull, dark breasts. Using this technique, we quickly develop a picture of a woman whose physical appearance leaves much to be desired.  

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Keeping in mind the images and ideas presented to us initially and vaguely in the octet, the sestet puts into words the argument that Shakespeare had silently been developing untill now. Of particular interest in the sestet is the section that compares his mistress with a goddess – “I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.” This suggests that his mistress is completely human, and hints at the idea that some of the normal comparisons are unrealistic. The volta, the last two lines of the sestet, clinches the entire poem’s argument. ...

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