1. Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
An unconventional love poem about the “Dark Lady”
Shakespeare wrote over 20 poems about the Dark Lady who remains a mysterious figure. We try and build up a picture of her from the poem.
Images of the authors are courtesy of The University of Texas at Austin.

2. 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’.

3. 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.
A sonnet:
14 lines
iambic pentameter
carefully patterned rhyme scheme.
Often used in love poetry;
Its perfect form could be seen to
reflect the perfect nature of
love and romance
The iambic pentameter is similar to a heartbeat. Try reading it!

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

5. But in his unconventional love poem Shakespeare
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:
What effect does this line have on the reader? “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;” Does it make us wonder what her eyes are like?
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
He has turned around the convention of exaggerated praise

6. He carries on with the unconventional approach in the next lines
desirable feature
Her lips aren't red
Pink-orange colour
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
she is beautiful in a different way?
Can we answer this
or do we need to read on?

7. In the next lines he moves on to describe other physical features
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
conventionally
beautiful
Gold wires were used
in head-dress and
compared to golden hair
Blondes were more
highly rated
mixed
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white
Is he disparaging his mistress or do these lines enhance the idea of unconventional beauty?
What is he saying here? Would you be offended at this point?
But she doesn’t
have this complexion
A woman would usually be compared to something like a rose
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

8. The author moves from how she looks to how she smells
“reeks” would not have been as insulting then but still quite rude!
The author moves from how she looks to how she smells
It was part of the 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
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 perfume
But Shakespeare takes an
unconventional approach

9. 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;
Why is her voice not perfect?
What reservations has Shakespeare still got? And where is this shown?
He’s not being critical of her voice:
all he’s saying is that music
has a more pleasing sound
In the conventional love
poem the writer
would say that her voice
was 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.

10. The poet describes how his mistress walks
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
poem she would be
described as
a goddess
He’s stressing his mistress is no goddess.

11. So does the poet think that his mistress is beautiful or what?
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
Direct statement, telling
us what he thinks
This exclamation shows real feeling, he does love her after all.
exceptional
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
For emphasis
Any woman
The poet thinks she’s
beautiful but doesn’t want
to describe her in a cliched way.
She is as beautiful as
any woman who is praised
with false comparisons

12. A sonnet has 14 lines rhyme scheme The first 12 lines are ABAB
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.
With a
closing couplet
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Sums things up

13. 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 breaking the tradition of love poetry; the idea of courtly love is replaced with something more ‘real’, more genuine.
Shakespeare is mocking clichés; he wants to show real love as something deeper than a string of unrealistic compliments.

14. He makes many negative comparisons.
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.

15. My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Simile commonly used in an over-exaggerated way by writers of sonnets
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?
Brown colour
Damask is a cloth with a pattern woven in to it, what might it mean here?
Mockery of usual romantic images
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
Rhyming couplet, gives the feeling of conclusion
Gave wrong impression of
Turns all the negative in to positive