Sonnet 131

1. Sonnet 131 Miyuki and Jodie

2. Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art, As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel For well thou know’st to my dear doting heart, Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel. Yet in good faith some say that thee behold, Thy face hath not the power to make love groan; To say they err, I dare not be so bold, Although I swear it to my self alone. And to be sure that is not false I swear, A thousand groans but thinking on thy face, One on another’s neck do witness bear Thy black is fairest in my judgment’s place. In nothing art thou black save in they deeds, And thence this slander as I think proceeds.

3. Paraphrase 1 Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art, 2 As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel; 3 For well thou know’st to my dear doting heart 4 Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel. 5 Yet in good faith some say that thee behold, 6 They face hath not the power to make love groan; 7 To say they err, I dare not be so bold, 8 Although I swear it to my self alone. 9 And to be sure that is not false I swear, 10 A thousand groans but thinking on they face, 11 One on another’s neck do witness bear 12 Thy black is fairest in my judgment’s place. 13 In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds, 14 And thence this slander as I think proceeds.

4. Paraphrase 1 You are as severe, 2 As those who are proud to be beautiful, which makes them cruel, 3 You know that in my heart you are, 4 The most beautiful and precious jewel. 5 Yet, some say that you know that you are beautiful 6 Your face is not ugly 7 I won’t dare to say they are wrong 8 I won’t admit that I think they are wrong 9 And to be sure I am not lying to myself, 10 When I think of your face, I think of bad things, 11 I am not the only person who thinks so. 12 I like you for your bad qualities. 13 Nothing about you is bad, except for what to do. 14 And people talk poorly about you because of the bad things that you do.

5. Literary Devices 1 Thou art as tyrannous so as thou art, 2 As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel; 3 For well thou know’st to my dear doting heart 4 Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel. 5 Yet in good faith some say that thee behold, 6 Thy face hath not the power to make love groan; 7 To say they err, I dare not be so bold, 8 Although I swear it to my self alone. 9 And to be sure that is not false I swear, 10 A thousand groans but thinking on thy face, 11 One on another’s neck do witness bear 12 Thy black is fairest in my judgment’s place. 13 In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds, 14 And thence this slander as I think proceeds.

6. Turn 1 Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art, 2 As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel; 3 For well thou know’st to my dear doting heart 4 Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel. 5 Yet in good faith some say that thee behold, 6 Thy face hath not the power to make love groan; 7 To say they err, I dare not be so bold, 8 Although I swear it to my self alone. 9 And to be sure that is not false I swear, 10 A thousand groans but thinking on thy face, 11 One on another’s neck do witness bear 13 They black is fairest in my judgment’s place. 14 In nothing art thou black save in they deeds, 15 And thence this slander as I think proceeds.

7. Turn • The turn starts at line 9 with “And to be sure that is not false I swear…” and ends at line 12 with “ Thy black is fairest in my judgment’s place.” • This is the turn because until this point in the poem, the author says that his lover is beautiful and everyone, despite the fact that her personality is severe. • At the turn of the sonnet, the author says that he is lying to himself by saying she is beautiful, but he likes her for all of her bad qualities.

8. Central Theme • The author is attracted to his lover for all the wrong reasons. • “Thy black is fairest in my judgment’s place” (Sonnet 131). • His lover possesses qualities and exhibits behavior that is typically considered unattractive. (line 10, 13-14). • “A thousand groans but thinking on thy face” (Sonnet 131). • “In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds/ And thence this slander as I think proceeds” (Sonnet 131). • Despite the fact that the author’s lover is not traditionally attractive, he feels an uncontrollable attraction to her, and loves her for her bad qualities. (lines 1 -4) • “Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art/ As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel/ For well thou know’st to my dear doting heart/ Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel” (Sonnet 131).

9. Reflection Questions • To whom/what does the speaker compare his lover in the first 2 lines? • The speaker compares his lover to a tyrant and someone who is conceited (“those whose beauties proudly make them cruel”) • What metaphor does the speaker use to describe his lover? • “Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel” (Sonnet 131). • What do some others say about the speaker’s lover that he hesitates to dispute? • The speaker hesitates to dispute the fact that other’s think that his lover his beautiful, but he does not. • Explain the paradox in line 12. • The poet says that he is attracted to his lover’s bad qualities.

10. scansion 1 Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art, 2 As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel; 3 For well thou know’st to my dear doting heart 4 Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel. 5 Yet in good faith some say that thee behold, 6 Thy face hath not the power to make love groan; 7 To say they err, I dare not be so bold, 8 Although I swear it to my self alone. 9 And to be sure that is not false I swear, 10 A thousand groans but thinking on thy face, 11 One on another’s neck do witness bear 12 Thy black is fairest in my judgment’s place. 13 In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds, 14 And thence this slander as I think proceeds.

11. Comparison • In Pride & Prejudice, Darcy exhibits very rude behavior toward Elizabeth • Despite the fact that Darcy believes Elizabeth is “not good enough for her,” he is attracted to Elizabeth • At first Elizabeth despises Darcy, but grows to like him, and eventually falls in love with him and marries him.