Diction And Images In Shakespeare's Sonnet 130

Have you ever been set up on a blind date by a friend? That friend most likely did not set out an unrealistic standard for you to live up to when mentioning you to the other person. As for instance, saying “she looks like a Barbie doll.” In reality, the only thing comparable between the women and a Barbie doll is their blonde hair. In sonnet #130 Shakespeare shows the complexity of his work through the diction and images in his poem. At what first seems to be an insulting, unloving poem turns out to be a loving and meaningful poem. The speaker describes his mistress in a very realistic manner, just as we would describe a friend, rather than using unrealistic metaphors like every other traditional love poem of the time. When we love a person, we should not hold them to standards, such as in beauty, because in time all beauty fades. In the first quatrain, the speaker conveys the truth about his mistress by saying she does not compare to divine beauty. “My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun. (Line 1) “In this line, a traditional figure of speech from the renaissance is used. Poets would often refer to a women’s eyes as shining like the sun. Realistically, it is impossible for human’s eyes to glow like the sun. The reader begins to get an eerie feeling when the speaker describes his mistress’s breast as being dun.

The concluding couplet shows the true beauty is within by implying that despite her flaws, the speaker still views his mistress as a goddess in his eyes. After a complete understanding of the poem, the reader learns that the poem is in fact a meaningful love poem rather that an insulting one. Shakespeare, in this poem, reveals the magnitude of possibilities he could achieve within a small boundaries of a sonnet. If you are ever on a blind date and the person your set up with is not exactly as attractive as you would like, reflect on this poem and remember that true beauty is