Sonnet

Shakespeare Sonnets
What is a sonnet?
a lyric poem consisting of fourteen lines
written in iambic pentameter
with a definite rime scheme
and a definite thought structure

Iambic what?

Oh dear, this is
going to be a
weird lesson!
A sonnet
A lyric poem

Deals with emotions, feelings

Iambic pentameter consists of
five measures, units, or meters, of iambs

A sonnet
The rhyme scheme is as follows:
(1) first stanza (octave): ABBA, ABBA;

(2) second stanza (sestet): CDE, CDE.  


Theme
Topic of sonnets written in Shakespeare`s time is love or a theme related to love.

Sonnet 130
In William Shakespeare’s (1564 – 1616) “Sonnet 130”, published 1609 in his book “Shakespeare’s Sonnets.
An unconventional love poem about the “Dark Lady”







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 damask’d, 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.


William Shakespeare Sonnet 130
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.

Mistress = lover
In a conventional love poem the writer would exaggerate how beautiful his mistress is:
My mistress` eyes are more
fantastic than the sun;
But in his unconventional love poem Shakespeare
underplays how beautiful his mistress is:
My mistress` eyes are nothing like the sun;
He has turned around the convention of exaggerated praise
Coral:a hard substance that is red, pink or white in colour on the bottom of the sea.
Dun: a dull brownish gray.
He carries on with the unconventional approach in the next lines
Coral is far more red than her lips` red
Pink-orange colour
Conventional
desirable feature
Her lips aren`t red
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun
Grey brown colour
The conventional
Something
of a cliche
Is he saying she is not
beautiful or is he saying
she is beautiful in a different way?
Can we answer this
or do we need to read on?
damask rose: A native to Asia that has fragrant red or pink flowers and is used as a source of attar.
Wire: Gold wires were used
in head-dress and
compared to golden hair

In the next lines he moves on to describe other physical features
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
Gold wires were used
in head-dress and
compared to golden hair
Blondes were more
highly rated
So she is not
conventionally
beautiful
I have seen roses damask`d, red and white
mixed
But she doesn’t
have this complexion
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
Reeks: a strong unpleasant smell
The author moves from how she looks to how she smells
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
Smells- the word
didn’t have a
negative meaning in
Shakespeare’s time
He’s not saying the smell of
her breath is unpleasant -
just that perfume smells sweeter
In conventional love poems
you would say her breath was
sweeter than perfume
But Shakespeare takes an
unconventional approach
Hath: (old use) has

The next feature is the sound of her voice
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
He’s not being critical of her voice:
all he’s saying is that music
has a more pleasing sound

In the conventional love
poem the writer
would say that her voice
was sweeter than music
Goddess: a female god
The poet describes how his mistress walks
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
I admit
to you
I’ve never seen
a goddess walk
My mistress walks like anyone else,
on the ground, rather than floating through the air
He’s stressing his mistress is no goddess.
In a conventional love
poem she would be
described as
a goddess
rare: special.
with false compare: by unbelievable, ridiculous comparisons.
So does the poet think that his mistress is beautiful or what?
The last 2 lines tell us
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
exceptional
Direct statement, telling
us what he thinks
For emphasis
She is as beautiful as
any woman who is praised
with false comparisons
The poet thinks she’s
beautiful but doesn’t want
to describe her in a cliched way.
A sonnet has 14 lines
The first 12 lines are
3 quatrains
Groups of 4 lines
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.
rhyme scheme
ABAB
With a
closing couplet
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Sums things up
Summary
His mistress who does not correspond with the ideals of beauty. The speaker compares her with beautiful things, but he cannot find a similarity. But he points out that his love does not depend on how she looks like.
Sonnet 130 is a parody of the Dark Lady, who falls too obviously short of fashionable beauty to be extolled in print. The poet, openly contemptuous of his weakness for the woman, expresses his infatuation for her in negative comparisons
In Sonnet 130 the poet is merely amused by his own attempt to deify his dark mistress.

Message:
A message in the sonnet is that love isn`t about being better than anything else in physical beauty.
You don`t have to beat the sun, or anything in nature.
This guy doesn`t look at his love and tell her that her eyes are bluer than the sky, or any smarmy lies that are so common.
He sees who she really is, and loves her still... thinks she is amazing and rare.
Here is a link to the text of sonnet 130.