Transcript Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
An unconventional love poem about the
“Dark Lady”
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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 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.
The iambic pentameter is similar
to a heartbeat. Try reading it!
A sonnet:
14 lines
iambic
pentameter
carefully
patterned
rhyme
scheme.
Often used in
love poetry;
Its perfect
form could be
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.
Eyes and lips are traditionally compared
and are features of female beauty
A traditional comparison
In a conventional love poem the writer would
exaggerate how beautiful his mistress is:
“nothing” is a
criticism
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
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He carries on with the unconventional approach in
the next lines
Pink-orange colour
Her lips aren't red
Conventional
desirable feature
Coral is far more red than her lips' red
Something
of a cliche
The conventional
Grey, brown colour
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun
Is he saying she is not
beautiful or is he saying
Can we answer this
or do we need to read on? she is beautiful in a different way?
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Hair was often compared to golden wires or threads, so he’s saying
her hair looks ugly!
In the next lines he moves on to describe other
physical features
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
So she is not
Gold wires were used Blondes were more
conventionally
in head-dress and
highly rated
beautiful
compared to golden hair
mixed
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white
What is he saying here? Would you be
offended at this point?
A woman would usually
be compared to
something like a rose
But she doesn’t
have this complexion
But
no such roses see I in her cheeks;
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“reeks” would not have been as
insulting then but still quite rude!
The author moves from how she looks to how she
It was part of the
smells
courtly tradition of
love to declare (and
believe) that the
goddess whom one
adored had virtually
no human qualities.
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
Smells- the word
He’s not saying the smell of
didn’t have a
her breath is unpleasant just that perfume smells sweeter negative meaning in
Shakespeare’s time
In conventional love poems
you would say her breath was
sweeter than perfume
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But Shakespeare takes an
unconventional approach
The next feature is the sound of her voice
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
He’s not being critical of her voice:
all he’s saying is that music
has a more pleasing sound
Why is her voice not perfect?
What reservations has Shakespeare
still got? And where is this shown?
In the conventional love
poem the writer
would say that her voice
was sweeter than music
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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.
However, divine comparisons are not relevant, for his beloved is beautiful
without having to be a Goddess. He is being REALISTIC about her.
The poet describes how his mistress walks
I admit
to you
I’ve never seen
a goddess walk
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
My mistress walks like anyone else,
on the ground, rather than floating through the air
In a conventional love
He’s stressing his mistress is no goddess. poem she would be
described as
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a goddess
The last two lines are inset,
making them stand out.
Ends in a rhyming couplet
So does the poet think that his mistress is beautiful
or what?
The last 2 lines tell us
This exclamation shows
real feeling, he does
love her after all.
Direct statement, telling
us what he thinks
exceptional
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
For emphasis As any she belied with false compare.
Any woman
The poet thinks she’s
She is as beautiful as
beautiful but doesn’t want
any woman who is praised
to describe her in a clichedhttp://marrasouk.com
way.
with false comparisons
A sonnet has 14 lines
The first 12 lines are
3 quatrains
Groups of 4 lines
rhyme scheme
ABAB
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.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false
compare.
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With a
closing couplet
Sums things up
The rhyme scheme
emphasises the rhyming couplet
at the end; this is where the true
nature of his feelings is revealed.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
G
As any she belied with false compare. G
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.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
• 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.
Simile commonly used in
an over-exaggerated way
by writers of sonnets
Sonnet 130
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Damask is a cloth
with a pattern
woven in to it,
what might it
mean here?
Brown colour
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
Mockery of usual
romantic images
If snow be white, why then her breasts are
dun;
Breathed out, but also
connotations of foul
smelling
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her
Regular number of
syllables per line
head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and
Is this a positive or
negative
impression?
Gave wrong
impression of
white,
She walks on
earth, the sky was
the realm of
goddesses
Rhyming
couplet, gives
the feeling of
conclusion
Turns all the negative in to positive
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more