Sonnet 130-lesson

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Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare

An unconventional love poem about the “Dark Lady”

What is a sonnet?

A sonnet is a 14 line poem which traditionally is used as a way to declare love for someone – you say brilliant things about them and tell them how much you love them!

What sort of things would you put in a sonnet? Think of ways to compliment someone – did they feature in your original list of love poetry?

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets. The lady spoken about in this sonnet is featured in Sonnets 127 to 154. she is known as ‘The Dark Lady’

Early sonnets are based on the Petrachan model (which follows a different rhyme scheme), however, the focus of the sonnet remains the same – idolising the woman and making her an ‘inspiration’.

Sonnet 130 by 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 damask'd, red and white,But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delightThan in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

I love to hear her speak, yet well I knowThat 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 rareAs any she belied with false compare.

A sonnet:14 lines iambic pentameter carefully patterned rhyme scheme.

Often used in love poetry;Its perfect form could be seen toreflect the perfect nature oflove and romance

The iambic pentameter is similar to a heartbeat. Try reading it!

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; A

Coral is far more red than her lips' red; B

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;A

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. B

I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,C

But no such roses see I in her cheeks; D

And in some perfumes is there more delight C

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. D

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know E

That music hath a far more pleasing sound;F

I grant I never saw a goddess go; E

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:F

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare G

As any she belied with false compare. G

Notice the rhyme scheme –ABAB and then ends in a rhyming couplet.


In a conventional love poem the writer would exaggerate how beautiful his mistress is:

My mistress' eyes are more fantastic than the sun;

But in his unconventional love poem Shakespeare underplays how beautiful his mistress is:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

He has turned around the convention of exaggerated praise

“nothing” is a criticism

Eyes and lips are traditionally compared and are features of female beauty A traditional comparison


He carries on with the unconventional approach in the next lines

Coral is far more red than her lips' red

Pink-orange colourConventional

desirable featureHer lips aren't red

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun

Grey, brown colourThe conventionalSomething of a cliche

Is he saying she is not beautiful or is he saying

she is beautiful in a different way?Can we answer this

or do we need to read on?


In the next lines he moves on to describe other physical features

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

Gold wires were used in head-dress and

compared to golden hair

Blondes were more highly rated

So she is not conventionally

beautiful

I have seen roses damask'd, red and white

mixed

But she doesn’t have this complexion

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

Hair was often compared to golden wires or threads, so he’s saying her hair looks ugly!

A woman would usually be compared to something like a rose

What is he saying here? Would you be offended at this point?


The author moves from how she looks to how she smells

And in some perfumes is there more delightThan in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

Smells- the word didn’t have a

negative meaning in Shakespeare’s time

He’s not saying the smell of her breath is unpleasant -

just that perfume smells sweeter

In conventional love poems you would say her breath was

sweeter than perfumeBut Shakespeare takes anunconventional approach

“reeks” would not have been as insulting then but still quite rude!

It was part of the courtly tradition of love to declare (and believe) that the goddess whom oneadored had virtually no human qualities.


The next feature is the sound of her voice

I love to hear her speak, yet well I knowThat music hath a far more pleasing sound;

He’s not being critical of her voice: all he’s saying is that musichas a more pleasing sound

In the conventional love poem the writer

would say that her voicewas sweeter than music

A turning point in the poem – he actually likes something about her!!

A direct statement; he would rather listen to his mistress than music, even though music sounds superior.

Why is her voice not perfect?

What reservations has Shakespeare still got? And where is this shown?


The poet describes how his mistress walks

I grant I never saw a goddess go;My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:

I admitto you

I’ve never seena goddess walk

My mistress walks like anyone else, on the ground, rather than floating through the air

He’s stressing his mistress is no goddess.In a conventional love poem she would be

described as a goddess

However, divine comparisons are not relevant, for his beloved is beautiful without having to be a Goddess. He is being REALISTIC about her.


So does the poet think that his mistress is beautiful or what?

The last 2 lines tell us


exceptional

Direct statement, telling us what he thinks

For emphasis

She is as beautiful as any woman who is praised

with false comparisons

The poet thinks she’s beautiful but doesn’t want

to describe her in a cliched way.

This exclamation shows real feeling, he does love her after all.

Any woman

Ends in a rhyming coupletThe last two lines are inset, making them stand out.


A sonnet has 14 lines

The first 12 lines are 3 quatrains

Groups of 4 lines

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.

rhyme schemeABAB

With aclosing couplet

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rareAs any she belied with false compare. Sums things up

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare G

As any she belied with false compare. G

The rhyme schemeemphasises the rhyming couplet at the end; this is where the true nature of his feelings is revealed.

Shakespeare is mocking clichés; he wants to show real love as something deeper than a string of unrealistic compliments.

Shakespeare is breaking the tradition of love poetry; the idea of courtly love is replaced with something more ‘real’, more genuine.


• The poet is satirising the tradition of comparing one’s love to all things beautiful, divine and immortal.

• He makes many negative comparisons.• But these final lines suggest that she is beyond all these things just

by being herself: mortal and approachable.• Rare = precious, superb, of fine and unusual quality • He thinks that his love is more special, than those which are based

on superficial comparisons.

Rhyming couplet, gives the feeling of conclusion

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.

Is this a positive or negative impression?

Simile commonly used in an over-exaggerated way by writers of sonnets

Brown colour

Mockery of usual romantic images

Damask is a cloth with a pattern woven in to it, what might it mean here?

Breathed out, but also connotations of foul smelling

Regular number of syllables per line She walks on

earth, the sky was the realm of goddesses

Gave wrong impression of Turns all the negative in to positive

Education

Sonnet 130-lesson