PASSAGE FOR STUDY

The Lover: Shakespeare

William Shakespeare. (5.12)

Among the poets influenced by Petrarch was Shakespeare, whose 154 sonnets often express deep anguish. Sonnet #130, however, has a different mood. In one sense the poem offers a useful catalogue of the conventions of Petrarchan love poetry, while in another, the text questions the value of those conventions.

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 damasked, 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.

Questions for Discussion

1. From the evidence provided in these fourteen lines, how did poets describe the women they loved and how does this sonnet comment upon those conventions?
2. What does the final couplet mean? In what way may false comparisons detract from the worth of the subject they attempt to describe?
3. What is the tone of this poem? Is the speaker angry, scornful, amused? Do you think he sincerely loves his mistress?
4. Compare the rhyme scheme of this poem, an example of the English, or Shakespearean sonnet, with the rhyme scheme of the Italian, or Petrarchan sonnet. What difference between Italian and English word formations accounts for the difference in rhyme schemes?

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