Sonet 130 by William Shakespeare Evan Miller and Jake Weidman

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Shakespeare Facts Married to Anne Hathaway, 8 year age difference Macbeth is thought to be one of the most produced plays ever, with a performance beginning somewhere in the world every four hours Shakespeare never actually published any of his plays Shakespeare's family were all illiterate All of his grandchildren died. He has no descendents

Recitation by Alan Rickman 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.

The Form Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 is written in Petrarch form Written in Iambic Pentameter A famous form of a traditional love sonnet However, in this case Shakespeare is mocking this traditional love form Instead of speaking highly of his love, he is instead giving her backhanded compliments, if they can be considered compliments at all.

Form Continued However, in the end, Shakespeare finally confesses his true love for his wife even though he has not boosted her image. The main point of this poem is to pull a large joke over the traditional forms of “love poetry” that was very common during the time period.

Modern Interpretation of Sonnet 130 My mistress's eyes are not at all like the sun; Coral is much more red than her lips; If snow is white, then her breasts are certainly not white as snow; If hairs can be compared to wires, hers are black and not golden. I have seen roses colored a combination of red and white (thus pink), But I do not see such colors in her cheeks; And some perfumes give more delight Than the breath of my mistress. I love to hear her speak, but I know That music has a more pleasing sound than her voice; I also never saw a goddess walk; But I know that my mistress walks only on the ground. And yet I think my love as rare As any woman who has had poetic untruths told about her beauty with false comparisons.

The English/Shakespearean Form Contains 3 quatrains of alternating rhyme. The form is as follows: a b a b c d c d e f e f g g Shakespeare often also places a “turn” around line 9 of every sonnet (Usually just before the 3 rd quatrain.)

Example of the form in 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 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.

Quick Review Question What was the name of Shakespeare’s wife and how many years older was she than him?

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Works Cited Jones, Candace, and Kate MacKinnon. "Sonnet 130." Saint Thomas University. 15 May Miller, Nelson. "Basic Sonnet Forms." Sonnet Central. 15 May 2009.