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Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare

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

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Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare

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  1. Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare Page 296

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

  3. 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.

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

  5. “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.

  6. “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.

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

  8. From ivoryscrimshaw.com, which sells red coral jewelry

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

  10. “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.

  11. “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.

  12. “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.

  13. “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.

  14. “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.

  15. “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.

  16. 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

  17. 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.

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