Sonnet 130 Essay

Sonnet 130 In Sonnet 130, the poet unfavorably compares his lover's body to a series of things. The speaker implies for more than half of the poem that his beloved is less beautiful than the roses, a goddess, the sun, and more. The speaker ultimately concludes that, even if his mistress cannot be credibly compared to the typical imagery of love poems, his love is still real and valuable. The speaker argues that his love should not be understood through abstract comparisons of beauty but should be valued for being flawed and honest[AS1] . Though the first line of the poem is a declarative sentence, it is almost a simile as it compares one thing to another, using the word "like" however, the comparison is negated[AS2] . Instead of saying that the speaker's mistress' eyes are like the sun, the speaker insists that they aren't like the sun. The object of beauty is the sun itself, being brilliant and sparkling. It can be inferred that the mistress’ eye is opposite to the beauty of the sun being dark and/or cloudy. There is a certain ambiguity the poet suggests by his refusal to compare her eyes to the sun, leaves the door open to the audience to make assumptions on the intention of the speaker[AS3] . Similarly to the first line, the second line has similar grammatical structures. The poet compares his mistress’ lips to something beautiful: “coral”, however, her body fails to live up to the beauty of the object she is compared to (Line 2). The coral is “far much[AS4] red” than the actual redness of her lips. A pattern emerges over the next two lines. The poet takes each body part of his beloved and compares it to something society considers exceptionally beautiful. Though parts of the mistress’ body are discussed in separate parts[AS5] , the poet avoids talking about her body as a whole. This poetic style helps in highlighting how shallow it is for only a lover’s body to be proclaimed beautiful and not deeper parts of who they are like personality or intelligence. In lines 3 and 4, the rhetorical structure shifts. The poet compares the color of his lover's breasts to snow. Where snow is white, her breasts are dun-- a "dull grayish-brown" color (Oxford English Dictionary). Having pale white skin has always been a standard of beauty and in the poet’s time, it was even more revered. Pale white skin was a mark of being rich and of a high class within society because it meant that you had the means to stay inside all day while the lower castes had to go outside and work in the temperamental weather. The author’s purpose of the poem is highlighted here, not only does the mistress fail to equal beautiful objects like the sun or the coral fish[AS6] species, she fails in meeting the beauty standards of society[AS7] . The style of the poem continues through the fourth line of the poem, "If hairs be wires..." (Line 4). Once again, the mistress fails to live up to this standard of beauty: her hairs may be wires, but they are black, not the socially attractive blonde. However, the poet is attracted to this woman and finds her to be beautiful in her own way. This brings up an important point, that beauty standards are not fair since they do not encompass different types of beauty. Such as a woman who has darker skin--maybe even black skin, dark eyes, and coarse/coily hair. Though these women are not white it in no way means that they are not beautiful. In line 5, the speaker recounts his own experience having seen “roses damasked, red and white.” (Line 5). The two colors blended creates a pretty pink color to the natural eye. In this case, the speaker compares his mistress to a natural object noting that her cheeks do not possess the same natural blush that can be seen in nature’s beauty like roses. In lines 6 and 7, the speaker compares his mistress's breath to perfume. Here, the poem focus shifts from the beauty on the surface of the poet's mistress to non-physical aspects that are not visible. Once again, the mistress falls short, compared to perfume her breath "reeks" (Line 8). While the comparison to the word “reeks” is not exactly complimentary, it alludes to meaning more than the reader's assumption of bad breath (Line 8). While his lover’s breath might not smell like literal perfume, it is still somewhat pleasant[AS8] and humanly flawed at times when her breath does not smell “perfect”. In lines 9 and 10, the speaker hone’s[AS9] in on his mistress’s intangible characteristics-- her voice. In this section of the poem, his comments become less insulting than the preceding lines, complimenting his lover: he loves listening to her talk[AS10] . But then adds “music hath a far more pleasing sound” (Line 10). In lines 11 and 12, the speaker then notes that when his mistress "goes" (when she walks), she does so in a humble, ordinary way: with her feet on the ground[AS11] . In this section of the poem, the speaker refuses to adorn his mistress with the elaborate complement of love poetry, instead, he attempts to express his love and admiration using direct language[AS12] . The formal pattern of the poem changes in the final two lines of the poem. Suddenly, the speaker’s insulting tone shifts to a more playful tone, swearing on the heavens to claim his lover is as "rare"—as special and unique—as any woman (Line 13). His writing becomes very clear in the beauty, attraction, and love he feels for his mistress. The poet’s refusal to compare his mistress to the beautiful objects mentioned in the prior lines of the poem was an artistic ploy to criticize all such comparisons. The[AS13] poet declares his lover is as beautiful as any woman "belied with false compare" (Line 14). The word "belied" means to give a false representation or account of, which implies the speaker means there is a falseness in other people who compare their beloved worldly objects (Oxford English Dictionary). There is much more honesty and truth when love poetry is based in the reality of the addressee, instead of the artificial beauty standards society has imposed.