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 dun¹:

If hairs be wires², black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damask'd³, red and white, 5

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight⁴

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks⁵.

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

That music hath a far more pleasing sound: 10

I grant⁶ I never saw a goddess go⁷, -

My mistress, when she walks, treads⁸ on the ground.

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

As any she belied with false compare⁹.

GLOSSARY

1. dun: dark

2. wires: long, thin pieces of metal. In Elizabethan poetry the word 'wire' was used to refer to golden, shiny hair

3. damask'd: light red or pink

4. delight: pleasure

5. reeks: has an unpleasant smell

6. grant: admit

7. go: walk

8. treads: walks with a heavy step

9. As any ... compare: as any woman who was mistakenly praised for being more beautiful than her

COMPREHENTION

1. The poet describes his love through a series of comparisons. Complete the table

below with the terms of comparison.

the poet's mistress	terms of comparison
eyes her lips her breasts her hairs her cheeks her breath the way she walks	…………................... ……………………... ……………………... ……………………… ……………………… ……………………… ………………………

Are the comparisons negative or positive?

2. In describing his mistress the poet appeals to the reader's sense of sight, smell and hearing. Say which comparisons appeal to which sense.

Sight ............................................... lines...............

Smell ........................................... lines...............

Hearing ........................................... lines...............

3. The sonnet can be divided into two parts, one in which the poet views his mistress objectively and the other where he views her subjectively.

Which lines give an objective view? ...............

Which lines give a subjective view? ...............

Can you explain the last two lines of the sonnet in your own words?

4. Is the poet's mistress the same as other women described in poems? Is the poet disappointed by this or is it her uniqueness that makes his love 'rare'? (Line 13)

ANALYSIS

1. The terms of comparison Shakespeare used (eyes/sun, lips/coral, breasts/snow, etc.) are typical of Elizabethan courtly love poetry. Do you find these comparisons original or banal? Does Shakespeare use them seriously or is he ridiculing this type of poetry?

2. Imagine you had to read the poem aloud. What tone of voice would you use?

• Ironic •Comic •Serious

•Romantic • Mocking •Apologetic

•Other: ………………………………………………….

3. Although it was written as a witty attack on courtly love sonnets, the message of the poem is serious.

Which of the following statements best summarises the theme of the poem?

• Women should not be glorified in poetry.

• There are many different types of beauty.

• True love does not demand physical perfection.

• Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

4. Work out the rhyming scheme of the sonnet. At which line does the rhyming scheme change? Would you agree that the last two lines are different from the rest of the poem? In what way?

5. The poem is written in iambic pentameter - five pairs of unstressed/stressed syllables. Break line 1 into its syllables and then mark the stressed syllables.

WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Parody ◊ A parody imitates the work of another author, usually with the intention of ridiculing it. Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 is a parody of a form of poetry which was popular in Elizabethan England. The Petrarchan love sonnet, in which a poet compared his lover to natural beauties, was named after the fourteenth-century Italian poet who wrote a series of love sonnets for his beloved Laura. This form of poetry was first imitated in England by Sir Thomas Wyatt at the beginning of the sixteenth century and met with great success. Shakespeare himself often wrote this form of love sonnet. However, in Sonnet 130 he chooses to make fun of it.

Task

Sonnet 130 is almost a mocking reply to a Petrarchan sonnet. Using the Shakespearean 'reply' as a basis try to reconstruct the type of sonnet that is being parodied.

Petrachan Sonnet	Sonnet 130
My mistress' eyes are like the sun (...)	My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun (...)

Over to you ◊ Do you know of any other forms of parody, for example, films that parody other films or comic actors that imitate and parody famous people? Think of an example and try to explain how it works.

OUT

Shakespeare says in this poem that you can love someone even if they are not good-looking. Which of the fllowing, do you think, are factors in attracting one person to another?

• Sense of humour • Sensitivity • Wealth • Intelligence • Physical strength • Vulnerability • Social class

Add some more factors of your own.