Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare Page 296

Questions for thought Who is considered an “ideal beauty” in our culture? What made a woman an “ideal beauty” in Shakespeare’s time?

Sonnet 130 The speaker’s situation The speaker is describing a woman he cares about. He is very realistic about her looks—she does not fit the expectations of an ideal beauty in Renaissance England.

Sonnet 130—poetic devices The speaker uses imagery to describe the woman he loves. Each line (or pair of lines) contains a different image.

“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” Paraphrase: My mistress’ eyes are not bright and warm and life-giving, like the sun—rather, they are dull and expressionless.

“Coral is far more red than her lips’ red.” Paraphrase: Her lips are not bright red like coral—they are more of a dull flesh-color.

“red sea fan coral spreads behind a golden damselfish in waters off Fiji” From the National Geographic website:

From ivoryscrimshaw.com, which sells red coral jewelry

“If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun.” Paraphrase: Her skin is brownish, not fair and white like snow.

“If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.” Paraphase: Her hair is not golden and silky—it is dark, and thick and stiff like wire.

“I have seen roses damask’d, red and white, / but no such roses see I in her cheeks.” Paraphrase: I have seen roses in real life—flowers of red and white—but her cheeks do not have the bloom of roses.

“and in some perfumes is there more delight / than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” Paraphrase: Perfume smells better than her breath does.

“I love to hear her speak, yet well I know / that music hath a far more pleasing sound.” Paraphrase: I love to talk to her and listen to her, but her voice is not as pleasing and smooth as music.

“I grant I never saw a goddess go, / my mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.” Paraphrase: I’ve admit I’ve never seen a goddess who floats above the ground, but I know that my mistress plants her feet firmly on the ground when she walks—she’s not very graceful.

“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / as any she belied with false compare.” Paraphase: Despite all this, I think the woman I love is just as special / as any other woman who is lied about with false comparisons in other poems.

Images/reverse comparisons in sonnet 130 Line 1: eyes not like the sun Line 2: lips not like red coral Line 3: skin not as white as snow Line 4: hair like black wires Lines 5-6: cheeks not like beautiful roses Lines 7-8: breath not like perfume Lines 9-10: voice not like music Lines 11-12: walking not graceful like a goddess

Main idea A woman can be loved and special without being an ideal beauty. Many poems idealizing a woman’s beauty are exaggerated and false.