Free College Essays - Shakespeare's Sonnet 130

Sonnet 130

Shakespeare was obviously a very deep, passionate and learned

man; he was very open with how he felt and was able to express it in a way

that was very exact and easy to comprehend. In his sonnets, which,

to me, are like a little diary, he talks a lot about his life

involving his mistress as well as a male friend that he may or may

not have been involved with. In Sonnet 130 Shakespeare is talking of

his mistress, her faults and his feelings about her an her faults.

the duration of the piece is spent pointing out the faults of

this woman and how he thinks that any other man would be simply

repulsed by this woman.

I feel that the format of this Sonnet in terms of content and

Shakespeare's feelings served two purposes. He first wanted to convey

the image that even though his mistress was not as fair as one would

hope for, they seemed to share some kind of kinship or bond that no

other could share with him, not even his wife. It did not matter to

him that she was not as pretty but only that she is on the same

wavelength that he is.

Secondly, I feel that he is explaining the fact that he does

not necessarily want a "mistress" that is a knockout, and that all of

the qualities that other men see in women are not his own and in fact

repulses him. He says in line 13 that he loves the woman and that

is rare or extraordinary which I think simply means that he cannot

believe that he actually does like another woman that is not beautiful

to every extent but she offers something more than just good looks.