Monday, February 18, 2008

Shakespeare Sonnet 130 Summary

1.) Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 can be found at the following link :http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/130.html.

2.) Sonnet 130 can be sumed up as a sonnet about the speaker admitting all his lover's flaws in the most honest way possible. Although he admits her flaws by the end of the poem the speaker realizes that his lover's flaws are rare and special and that he loves through the flaws. The poem's focus is on a "real girl" rather then glorifying a woman as a goddess that is perfect and utopian. Sonnet 130 is realistic rather than glorified which is not normal for a shakespearean sonnet which usually expresses love in a more "perfect and peachy" light.

3.) What drew me to the poem is that it starts out with an insult as the speaker expresses that "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;"(1) That first line enraged me and drew me in to keep on reading the rest of the sonnet. All the way up until the ryhming couplet at the end the poem's speaker insults his lover explaining everything that his lover is NOT. In the last two lines the speaker admits that those flaws are what make the love extrodinary as he explains, "...I think my love as rare."(13) and that quickly made the angry feminist in me calm down and realize the poem is actually sweet and honest to the core.

4.) The sonnet relates to other sonnets we have read in class in that it follows the Shakespearean sonnet form perfectly considering that the author is Shakespeare himself. An example of a poem that follows the same sonnet form is one of the poems by Shakespeare that we read in class, "Full many a glorious morning i have seen." Both poems summarize the speaker's point in the first three quatrains and then are concluded in the last two lines which are the rhyming couplet. Sonnet 130 also shows a great deal of consonance in that everyline ends with a hard consenent sound.

Kelly Gore Eng 298 12:00 class

3 comments:

Prof. L said...

Nice choice. This is one of those in which the couplet seems to reverse--or at least redirect--everything that comes before. Lots of wordplay there with "belie" and "false."

Anyone want to take a stab at summarizing that couplet? (Try reading "woman" for "she.")

Melissa Kerrigan said...

I agree with the explination for this poem. The speaker is expressing their love for someone real, not made-up to be perfect. It reminds me of todays standards. One is not considered attractive unless they are "perfect." However, many individuals seem to be breaking the mold and making their flaws known. This poem is fantastic in the way the speaker is not ashamed to love someone who is not perfect. I really enjoyed reading it.

Feras said...

"Coral is far more red than her lips' red", now i know why you were angered by this poem. The speaker definetley gave her the truth. It is comforting to find out that at the end he is really trying to say that because of her flaws, she is special. I guess love works in mysterious ways. Great choice.