Overview
This lecture analyzes Shakespeare’s 'Sonnet 130', exploring its satire of beauty ideals and poetic conventions in both Elizabethan and modern contexts.
Physical Beauty Ideals: Then and Now
- Modern society promotes unrealistic beauty standards through social media.
- Elizabethan era beauty ideals included pale skin, light hair, high foreheads, blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and red lips.
Context and Purpose of Sonnet 130
- Shakespeare mocks the unrealistic comparisons of Petrarchan sonnets.
- The sonnet uses “anti-compliments” to describe the mistress’s ordinary features.
- The poem ultimately praises authentic love over exaggerated praise.
Line-by-Line Analysis & Literary Devices
- Line 1 uses a negative simile: mistress's eyes are not like the sun.
- Line 2 contains a metaphor: coral is redder than her lips.
- Line 3 uses a metaphor: her skin is dull and brown (‘dun’) rather than pale like snow.
- Line 4: her hair is compared to black wires, not the ideal soft blonde.
- Lines 5-6: cheeks lack the rosy pattern of damask roses.
- Lines 7-8: perfume smells better than her ordinary breath.
- Lines 9-10: her voice is pleasant, but music sounds better.
- Lines 11-12: she walks on the ground, not like a floating goddess.
- Lines 13-14: the closing couplet (volta) expresses sincere love without false comparisons.
Commentary on Beauty and Love
- Shakespeare challenges traditional beauty standards using satire.
- The sonnet’s closing couplet affirms genuine love and rejects exaggerated poetic flattery.
- Real love does not require false comparisons or unrealistic ideals.
Form, Structure, and Tone
- Follows a Shakespearean sonnet structure: 14 lines, 3 quatrains, final rhyming couplet.
- Rhyme scheme: a-b-a-b c-d-c-d e-f-e-f g-g.
- Written in iambic pentameter.
- Tone is satirical and mocking at first, shifting to sincere and appreciative in the couplet.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Simile — comparing two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
- Metaphor — direct comparison without using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
- Iambic Pentameter — a poetic rhythm with five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables per line.
- Volta — the ‘turn’ or shift in argument or tone, typically in the final couplet of a sonnet.
- Rhyming Couplet — two lines at the end of a sonnet that rhyme and conclude the poem’s message.
- Satirical — using humor, irony, or ridicule to criticize.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Watch the upcoming video explaining rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter.
- Review the structure and tone of Shakespearean sonnets for exam preparation.