In his "Sonnet 130," William Shakespeare presents an uncommon variation on the staple Elizabethan era love poem. While sonnets on the subject of love typically presented a problem which would be solved through the poet 's skills of rhetoric, in "Sonnet 130" Shakespeare creates a unique satirical love poem which eschews the common idealistic comparisons on a woman 's beauty in favor of a photographic accuracy. The poem 's final rhyming couplet makes it clear that the author 's intentions are to depict realistic and not idealistic beauty. While it would be a basic interpretation to read the "mistress" in the sonnet as the author 's lover, a closer analysis reveals a more unorthodox possibility. Instead of interpreting the sonnet as a standard …show more content…
Unlike the minty aroma which another poetic subject might produce from her mouth, this woman 's is described as "the breath that from my mistress reeks" (8). This description not only paints a picture of the mistress ' dental hygiene, it also suggests that she may have been taking drinks from her own inventory throughout the course of the night. Since the author indicates that only "some perfumes" smell better than woman 's breath, this description could also suggest that the author is enjoying the tell-tale smell of alcohol on her breath (7). This moment marks a shift in the poet 's descriptions where the largely unflattering language begins to soften into terms of somewhat greater affection. A close reading of the poem suggests that this is around the time when the speaker begins to become intoxicated, therefore impairing his judgment. Another example of this can be seen in the author 's admission that he "love[s] her to speak," clearly indicating his affection and appreciation for her voice and opinions. Although the observation is followed by a comment that "music hath a far more pleasing sound," this may in fact be less of a complaint towards the mistress than a mention of the fact that, working in a tavern, there was often music being played when he heard her …show more content…
This change in mental state accounts for the change in language from the unflattering descriptions early on to the more loving and affectionate feelings expressed later in the poem. This continued consumption of alcohol results in the speaker 's proclamation of love -- a state defined as "rare" because it will most likely be gone in the morning. It is clear in the poem that the speaker 's complex maze of attraction and derision is cyclic, transforming the unattractive innkeeper to the prized jewel of his eye on a weekly or perhaps daily basis. Through the clever use of negative descriptions and false comparisons, the author confides to paper what is effectively a bipolar relationship with the woman he both loathes and
The poem “The Old Maid”, by Sara Teasdale, takes place on a sidewalk on Broadway. The speaker in the poem is a woman walking with who you can infer to be her fiancée and she is describing a brief encounter she had with another woman in the car driving by her. The speaker describes the woman as “The woman I might grow to be,” She then notices how her hair color “…was as mine” and how “Her eyes were strangely like my eyes”. However, despite all these similarities the woman’s hair compared to the speaker’s was “…dull and drew no light”. Her eyes also did not shine like the speaker’s. The speaker assumed that the reason for the woman’s frail appearance was because she had never had the opportunity to know what it was like to be in love. In the last stanza, the speaker no longer looks upon the old maid but to her lover and knows that even though they may look similar she will never be like her.
Analysis of Holy Sonnet XIV Throughout history, many people have endeavoured to convey their interpretations, or experiences, of the relationship between God and mankind. The sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial sacrificial s Many interpretations are positive - Psalm 139 of the Bible. for example, portrays the relationship between man and God as a personal and intimate one - yet just as many are decidedly negative. One such interpretation is Holy Sonnet XIV, an intensely personal poem. by John Donne which explores the feelings of a man torn between physical desire and spiritual longing.
The diction that is produced in the poem is seen throughout the poems entirety. Words like “trustless, mishap, grievous, and bale” all give off gloomy undertones. This gives the reader a feeling of empathy for the speaker. All he wants to do is be able to love this women, but isn't sure that he will be able to trust her before he is hurt by her. On
This is an enjoyable sonnet that uses nature imagery, found extensively in Petrarca, that Shakespeare uses to get his point across. Not much explication is needed, aside the sustained images of nature, to fully understand its intent, but I would like to point out a peculiar allusion. When reading line 3, "the violet past prime" has made me think of Venus and Adonis. In the end, Adonis melts into the earth and a violet sprouts where his body was, which Venus then places in her heart, signifying the love she has for him. Reading this into the poem makes the few following lines more significant. Having Adonis portrayed as the handsome youth, Shakespeare is alluding to the death of youth (in general and to the young man) through the sonnet. In the next line, it is not certain if "sable" is an adjective or a noun and if "curls" is a noun, referring to hair (which is plausible) or a verb modifying "sable." Invoking the allusion to Adonis here, Shakespeare portends that if Adonis did live longer, he too would have greying hair; thus, Shakespeare sees ["behold"] an Adonis figure, the young man, past his youth.
From the start Sonnet 130 or as we like to call it “My Mistress’ Eyes,” is a somewhat gruesome tribute to Shakespeare’s mistress. She 's clearly the main character of the poem. Every single line refers to her, whether describing her appearance or her smell or even just the way she walks. As the audience we get to learn a few things about her, like the color of her hair and her skin. Overall, though, she 's a little more like an idea or figment of Shakespeare’s imagination, than a real person. Instead of being a fully drawn character like Hamlet or Juliet other characters of his, she is mostly here to give the poet, Shakespeare, a chance to poke fun at exaggerated love poetry. We hear lots about her, but for the most part, the information is
Throughout his life... was a man self-haunted, unable to escape from his own drama, unable to find any window that would not give him back the image of himself. Even the mistress of his most passionate love-verses, who must (one supposes) have been a real person, remains for him a mere abstraction of sex: a thing given. He does not see her --does not apparently want to see her; for it is not of her that he writes, but of his relation to her; not of love, but of himself loving.
Sonnet 130 is Shakespeare’s harsh yet realistic tribute to his quite ordinary mistress. Conventional love poetry of his time would employ Petrarchan imagery and entertain notions of courtly love. Francis Petrarch, often noted for his perfection of the sonnet form, developed a number of techniques for describing love’s pleasures and torments as well as the beauty of the beloved. While Shakespeare adheres to this form, he undermines it as well. Through the use of deliberately subversive wordplay and exaggerated similes, ambiguous concepts, and adherence to the sonnet form, Shakespeare creates a parody of the traditional love sonnet. Although, in the end, Shakespeare embraces the overall Petrarchan theme of total and consuming love.
In the third stanza, he is telling her that there is no worth in hiding her beauty; "Small is the worth Of beauty from the light retired." He wants her to step out into the light and allow herself to be desired without feeling embarrassed; "Bid her come forth, Suffer herself to be desired, And not blush so to be admired." He wants her to feel proud that she is admired and "not blush."
The speaker uses metaphors to describe his mistress’ eyes to being like the sun; her lips being red as coral; cheeks like roses; breast white as snow; and her voices sounding like music. In the first few lines of the sonnet, the speaker view and tells of his mistress as being ugly, as if he was not attracted to her. He give...
At the start, the first stanza of the poem is full of flattery. This is the appeal to pathos. The speaker is using the mistress's emotions and vanity to gain her attention. By complimenting her on her beauty and the kind of love she deserves, he's getting her attention. In this first stanza, the speaker claims to agree with the mistress - he says he knows waiting for love provides the best relationships. It feels quasi-Rogerian, as the man is giving credit to the woman's claim, he's trying to see her point of view, he's seemingly compliant. He appears to know what she wants and how she should be loved. This is the appeal to ethos. The speaker seems to understand how relationships work, how much time they can take, and the effort that should be put forth. The woman, if only reading stanza one, would think her and the speaker are in total agreement.
There had been many muses to the world of poetry, may it be a person or even a perception on life. Love is one that prevails all in the musings and perhaps there is a reason for that. While there are some that are cynical in the way of love and how it affects a person, love can have many positive effects on the mood and behavior of an enamored individual.With works from well known poets such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and even the bard himself, William Shakespeare, the subject of love jumps up from the pages as changing an individual. Not all these authors and word artists agree with how love warps the mind. May the subject of love come from words on paper, paint on a canvas, or even in the lives of these people, love can prevail and
William Shakespeare was an excellent writer, who throughout his life created well written pieces of literatures which are valued and learned about in modern times. One of his many works are 154 Sonnets, within these Sonnets there are several people Shakespeare “writes to”, such as fair youth, dark lady and rival poet. Sonnet 20 is written to fair youth, or in other words a young man. The idea of homosexuality appears in Sonnet 20 after the speaker admits his love towards the young man.
This poem speaks of a love that is truer than denoting a woman's physical perfection or her "angelic voice." As those traits are all ones that will fade with time, Shakespeare exclaims his true love by revealing her personality traits that caused his love. Shakespeare suggests that the eyes of the woman he loves are not twinkling like the sun: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (1). Her hair is compared to a wire: "If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head" (3). These negative comparisons may sound almost unloving, however, Shakespeare proves that the mistress outdistances any goddess. This shows that the poet appreciates her human beauties unlike a Petrarchan sonnet that stresses a woman's cheek as red a rose or her face white as snow. Straying away from the dazzling rhetoric, this Shakespearean poem projects a humane and friendly impression and elicits laughter while expressing a truer love. A Petrarchan sonnet states that love must never change; this poem offers a more genuine expression of love by describing a natural woman.
In each single stanza of this poem, the speaker complains about the evils that the lady has done to him and shows some anger on his tone "you." In my opinion this means the lady cheated him and he now feels unappreciated and unwanted.
His was not, but he loved her anyway for what she was not what she was not. This poem was made to be a mocking view of all the other love poems around. I feel that the format of this sonnet in terms of content and Shakespeare's feelings served two purposes. He wanted first 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 ravishing, and that all of the qualities that other men see in women are not his own and in fact repulse him. He says in line 13 that he loves the woman and that is rare or extraordinary. Which 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, companionship. The picture of true unconditional love is best presented in William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130." Though his lover's lips are not full, he yearns for them. Though her cheeks are not rosy, he feels her glow. Her hair is certainly not soft and her breath does not project sweet perfume, but he is still truly captivated. She cannot sing to save her life, yet he loves to hear her voice. When she walks you would not call her graceful but he still cherishes her clumsy strides. This is a poem written by a man that has learned to love with his heart and not his