The Theme of Unconditional Love in William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130

(show poem) Shakespeare concentrates on his mistress’s physical imperfections by portraying to the reader that his woman in not attractive. The reader can draw powerful images with Shakespeare’s language and dialogue signifying a range of human emotions and conditions Instead of exaggerating the beauty of his lady’s eyes by claiming that they outshine the sun, the speaker starts off with a simile proclaiming ‘my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun’ , he doesn’t describe the eyes at all,

Shakespeare's My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun Many authors compose sonnets about women whom they loved. Most of these authors embellish their women's physical characteristics by comparing them to natural wonders that we, as humans, find beautiful. Shakespeare's "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" contradicts this idea, by stating that his mistress lacks most of the qualities other men wrongly praise their women for possessing. Shakespeare presents to one that true love recognizes imperfections and feels devotion regardless of flaws, while satirically expressing his personal thoughts on Petrarchan sonnets.

“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun…” is a sonnet written by William Shakespeare and is also known as Sonnet 130. He wrote this poem to mock the conventional Petrarchan love sonnets which are about women who have unattainable beauty. This poem is written in the Shakespearean sonnet format which consists of a total 14 lines with the first 12 lines divided into three quatrains, and the last two lines make up a couplet. The quatrains establish the motif or problem of the poem while the ending couplet explains or resolves the previous lines. Sonnet 130 is a long conceit where the speaker of the poem goes through a long list of comparisons that seem like insults. The speaker uses juxtaposition to show that his love for his mistress is strong by describing her in a blunt way that seems insulting on the surface, but he reveals in the end he loves her even though she is flawed.

Shakespeare follows the English style of sonnets, while Collins partially follows the Petrarchan style. Both sonnets include fourteen lines, a defining feature of the sonnet form. “My mistress’ eyes are…” consists of three quatrains that describes his argument on love cliches, and ends with a couplet, the turning point of English sonnets. The sonnet consists of ten syllables each line, following the rhythm of the iambic pentameter rule. Shakespeare’s sonnet follows the usual rhyme scheme of an English sonnet: abab cdcd efef gg. Collins attempts to stray from the general sonnet principles in contrast with Shakespeare. “Sonnet” loosely follows the Petrarchan style, as the lines are grouped into one octave and one sestet in structure. Collins’s “Sonnet” does not have a rhyme scheme, nor does the poem follow iambic pentameter. His sonnet does, however, present his turn in line 9, the beginning of the sestet. Collins begins poking fun at English sonnets in the octave, but then turns to joke at Petrarchan forms. Both sonnets have a lighthearted, humorous tone and parody classic styles of sonnets in different ways.

Unlike Sonnet 18, Shakespeare utterly abandons the poetic convention of Petrarchan conceit in Sonnet 130. In this poem, Shakespeare denies his mistress all of the praises Renaissance poets customarily attributed to their lovers. The first quatrain is filled exclusively with the Shakespeare's seeming insults of his mistress. While Sir Thomas Wyatt authors a poem entitled "Avising the Bright Beams of These Fair Eyes," in the first line of Sonnet 130, Shakespeare affirms that his "mistress's eyes are nothing like the sun." John Wootton, in a poem published in England's Helicon, boasts that his love has "lips like scarlet of the finest dye," but in Sonnet 130 , Shakespeare is sure that his beloved's lips are not nearly quite as red as coral (11; 2). Michael Drayton, in his poem, To His Coy Love, begs his lover, "Show me no more those snowy

Despite the similarities, “Sonnet 130” has a slight twist at the end that the reader does not expect. Even though the poem is steeped with negative connotation, the speaker reveals that he still loves his companion. When the reader breaks down the poem line by line, the speaker is saying that even though his lover is rather unattractive, he still loves her for who she is: “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare” (13-14). This can also be a life lesson, showing how people sometimes only focus on what is on the outside, but it is the personality, trust, and other important characteristics that really matter in life. On the contrary, West focuses on a negative connotation and his hatred throughout the whole entire song by saying how cold she is because of the heartbreak he went through.

“To my Dear and Loving Husband” written by Anne Bradstreet, is the story of a woman admiring love for her husband. On the other hand, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” written by William Shakespeare, is the story of the love a man feels for an imperfect woman. Although the two poems are about love, they interpret it in different ways through rhythmic structure, and emotional expression. “To my Dear and Loving Husband” has an impeccable rhythmic alignment. It starts with repeating “if ever” three times in the first three lines.

In “Trout” by David Marlatt and “Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare, both describe their loves in unusual, more complex ways then what is usually written in poetry. “Trout” describes a day where the speaker swims next to his love, and explains to her that she is as beautiful as a trout. Throughout the poem, however, there seems to be a tone of admiration, and the audience cannot hellp but feel that the speaker is giving his love one of the highest praises he can possibley think of. In “Sonnet 130”, the speaker juxtaposes his love to certain elements found in poetry, such as red and white roses, goddesses, and music, and says that in comparison to these she is but average and plain.

The poem itself has a lot of metaphors hidden within which shows Shakespeare's true brilliance. The structure of the poem compares the beautiful lover (perhaps his wife) to the warm and bright summer’s day. Each time I re-read it, I will always find new metaphors that will make me want to read it again and again. Even though it is a typical sonnet, I didn't choose it for the obvious reasons. This poem is well-known, but it is only well known because of the mastery and brilliance of its meaning. I chose this poem because of how beautiful it is and how William seemed to hit the perfect Summer’s Day within the image of his lover.

This sonnet serves to invoke a strong sense of realism in love, arguing that as strong an intensity of emotion as may be held, may be held, without the need for delusions of grandeur, taking the view that trying to reconcile two essentially different and diverse things as equal is to do true justice to neither. The beloved in this case thus represents more the need for a character developed to challenge stereotype than an actual real-life woman,

The speaker starts the first quatrain criticizing his ‘mistress’. He spends each line comparing her to something else. The first line is a simile “My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun”, her eyes are most likely brown or dull, ordinary. The first line also follows the basic iambic pentameter form, in the masculine sense ending with a stressed syllable, “my MIStress EYES are NOthing LIKE the SUN”. In the second line there is a break from the norm, where instead of the usual iambic pentameter, the stress falls on the first syllable “COral”. The second line “Coral is far more red than her lips red” is suggesting that her lips are not red and that women’s lips who are bright

“Sonnet 130” has a tone of truthfulness. Throughout the sonnet Shakespeare says somewhat mean but truthful facts about the appearance of his mistress. Even though the statements seem cruel and mean he is speaking the truth and these flaws don’t bother him. The sonnet’s mood is loving. Shakespeare doesn’t have the slightest problem with not having the “prettiest” mistress which is proven by how he talks about her saying things like “black wires grow on her head” (l. 4). He prefers to have a woman with a more beautiful inside rather than outside. Shakespeare’s view on love creates the tone and mood for the sonnet but is also a great

Overall, both of these poems fulfill the same motive. They were written to praise women, but the two use different methods for doing so. In “Sonnet 18”, Shakespeare compares his lover with the negative aspects of summer stating “/Thou art more lovely and more temperate/” (2). On the other hand in “Sonnet 130”, Shakespeare compares his mistress to the good qualities of acquisitive things to show how even though she is not perfect, she is still important to him. He vows “by heaven” (13) that the feelings he has for his mistress are as rare “/As any she belied with false compare/” (14). The messages delivered by the two poems are very unique. In “Sonnet 18”, the woman being described is perfect and does

To begin with, the sonnets both share an obvious and similar subject, which is love. The message in each poem just are delivered in different ways. “The universal Heritage Dictionary, as “a set of attitudes toward love that was strong.’” Sonnet 18 is what you would call your classic love poem. He is explaining how the woman’s love is compared to a summer’s day. He is basically saying his love for her will never die and will always live on. While in sonnet 130, it comes off as very spiteful and mean in the beginning. It’s not your classic love poem that one would be used to. He is pointing out all of her physical flaws by comparing them to things. For example, in the poem he says “I have seen

He accepts her essentially, because of her mediocracy. At times, he is outraged by her additional lovers, but he still is wrapped around her finger. He blames himself for staying with her even though the relationship is toxic and copes with her infidelity. Shakespeare turns the traditional feeling of a love sonnet to that of hatred, resentment, and lust. It seems more in line with the reality and harshness of falling in love, as opposed to the traditional googly-eyed admiration of a lover. Since Shakespeare avoids this fictional theme, he gives readers a good reason to believe his Sonnets may actually be true.