Justifying Mutual Deceit in William Shakespeare's Sonnet 138

Shakespeare examines love in two different ways in Sonnets 116 and 130. In the first, love is treated in its most ideal form as an uncompromising force (indeed, as the greatest force in the universe); in the latter sonnet, Shakespeare treats love from a more practical aspect: it is viewed simply and realistically without ornament. Yet both sonnets are justifiable in and of themselves, for neither misrepresents love or speaks of it slightingly. Indeed, Shakespeare illustrates two qualities of love in the two sonnets: its potential and its objectivity. This paper will compare and contrast the two sonnets by Shakespeare and show how they represent two different attitudes to love.

Finally, the structure of this sonnet brings the reader’s attention to what the point really is. Instead of making the narrator, full of desire for self-improvement, the hero of the sonnet, the final couplet corrals the reader’s attention back to the personality of the lunatic, who is the true focus of the poem.

Self-expression is the human capability of revealing the attributes and features of one’s self. However, humans have the ability to methodically select how cohabiting individuals will perceive his or her character. Through lies and secrets, a human being distorts their true self from the perception of another. William Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice contains situations in which characters lie to conceal their secrets and self. First, Jessica, the Jewish moneylender’s daughter, uses lies to escape her father’s house and elope with her love. Secondly, Shylock, the Jewish moneylender in Venice, suppresses his motives and thoughts in the presences of his Venetian neighbours. Lastly, lies are used by Bassanio, an Italian lord of Venice, as he appears to be a wealthy man but is truly in debt. Clearly, Shakespeare uses the theme appearance versus reality to disguise true intentions and deceive characters.

Sonnet Essay In the Sonnet “If We Must Die,” by Claude McKay, McKay gives a powerful message of pride and honor, writing how a group or person will die with great bravery to prove the point of dying with a cause. Throughout the sonnet constant remarks of death and courage are being used to give the feeling of fighting to the last breath. This brings out the liveliness of what is going on the sonnet, which is the message being shown. McKay uses literary devices such as diction, imagery and form to help engage the reader into understanding the author’s attitude.

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 138” presents an aging man’s rationalization for deceit in an affair with a younger woman. The speaker of the sonnet realizes his mistress lies to him about being faithful. He in turn, portrays himself as younger than he actually is: “When my love swears that she is made of truth / I do believe her though I know she lies, / That she might think me some untutored youth…” (1-3). “Sonnet 138” allows the reader a glimpse into the speaker’s mind, and what one finds is a man suffering from what is commonly known as a midlife crisis. In an effort to reverse “the downslope [sic] of age” (Kermode “Millions”), he takes part in a duplicitous affair with a

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 138” depicts the relationship of a couple, who many believe to be the author and his mistress, a woman referred to as the dark lady. The sonnet’s immense use of imagery causes the reader to imagine the sonnet as a play where the characters are covered by masks. Furthermore the sonnet illustrates that through lies, characters are able to hide themselves and become something they are not. By changing oneself, one gives into mediocrity, because if one puts on a mask to be like everyone else, then that individual will never be able to be themselves. Although “Sonnet 138” depicts the speakers’ willingness to settle for false love and put on a mask, Sonnet 138 depicts a relationship that its very survival is based

Love in Deception William Shakespeare’s sonnet 138, is centered on the poet and his compelling love for his mistress. It is a love poem where the reader is offered a bewildering viewpoint. Stylistic rhetorical tools are used to its advantages serving as a framework for describing the poems emotionally enthralling love story. Sonnet 138 emphasizes the artificial affection and faith between the poet and his mistress, who both equally approve that their relationship is based on deception. Both the poet, and his supposed mistress, decide never to reveal the reality about how their relationship is on terms of unspoken truths.

In “Sonnet 138” also known as “When My Love Swears that she is Made of Truth” is a sonnet written by William Shakespeare, has many examples of literary elements such as personification and various types of rhyme. In “Sonnet 138” the author writes the sonnet in iambic pentameter and writes in an ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG rhyme scheme. The narrator also includes examples of connotation and denotation to help change the meaning of the poem.

Ever wonder if your ancestors may have felt the same way you’ve felt while dealing with an situation? While through the beauty of sonnets, you can obtain the answers to your question as well as learn about how the people of the past thought about certain situations. Sonnets are poem that are based of off something in the poet's life that genuinely affected him/her emotionally that he simply couldn’t describe through their own words. Sonnets are usually full of thoughts of controversy towards what the poet may have had while wondering about at the time. The most delightful aspect of a sonnet is that it consist of emotions. The reason is that emotions are the one few ideas that can’t be disposed of, everyone has felt them and

‘Sonnet 116’ by William Shakespeare and ‘What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, And Where, And Why” by Edna St. Vincent Millay are both sonnets that discuss companionship and a glimpse of each poet’s experiences. In ‘Sonnet 116’, Shakespeare illustrates how capability is weakened by its metaphysical stereotype and ideals such as, love, while on the contrary, in ‘What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, And Where, And Why” Millay feeds on the chaos between the ideal of love and its harsh reality, heartbreak. Both poets seem to be love struck but there is a significant difference in the two. I will compare and contrast ‘Sonnet 116’ by William Shakespeare and ‘What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, And Where, And Why” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. I will also inquire and analyze why this particular form of poetry established different effects.

Truth and honesty are key elements to a good, healthy relationship. However, in Shakespeare's Sonnet 138, the key to a healthy relationship between the speaker and the Dark Lady is keeping up the lies they have constructed for one another. Through wordplay Shakespeare creates different levels of meaning, in doing this, he shows the nature of truth and flattery in relationships.

In this interpretation, I will be analyzing poetry written by Shakespeare including poetic terms and a socio-historical examination of the text. For this analysis, I will be discussing Sonnet 130 and the poem All the World’s a Stage. These poems by Shakespeare are both well known and very representative of his literary style and his use of contrasting literary devices to paint a vivid picture for the audience. Shakespeare is a unique and very deft user of language to tell stories that are understandable to not only audiences from his time but our own as well.

     The sonnet, being one of the most traditional and recognized forms of poetry, has been used and altered in many time periods by writers to convey different messages to the audience. The strict constraints of the form have often been used to parallel the subject in the poem. Many times, the first three quatrains introduce the subject and build on one another, showing progression in the poem. The final couplet brings closure to the poem by bringing the main ideas together. On other occasions, the couplet makes a statement of irony or refutes the main idea with a counter statement. It leaves the reader with a last impression of what the author is trying to say.

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, also known from its first line as “My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun”, is a fourteen-line poem in which an unnamed male speaker describes various aspects of his mistress.Sonnet 130 is often taken as a satire of the type of courtly love poetry that was so popular in the late sixteenth century. This is because it draws conclusions that are diametrically opposed to those other pieces of poetry. The Sonnet itself consists of three quatrains and a final rhyming couplet. In these quatrains, the poet compares his nameless mistress to various things such as the light of the sun, to perfume, to music, and to a goddess. Each time the poet points out that his mistress cannot compare to these wonders simply because they are entirely different. Instead, the speakertakes pains to describe what his mistress is really like. These comparisons are quite humorous. But is Sonnet 130 meant to be simply satirical? This paper will explore whether this is the case.

In Sonnet 94, Shakespeare shows a separation between those who have, but do not flaunt and those who have and use to satisfy others. Society’s preferred standards where flawed during the 17th century. They played a part in how people were criticized. Shakespeare has a strong approval for those who convey themselves in a humble manner, but deeply opposed the individuals who do not; all in all, those who are differentiated should not be bad-mouthed because of their actions, but helped to become better.