Love from the Inside
Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” is a sonnet written for the common man. It is written in such a simplistic way that anyone can understand the idea Shakespeare is trying to convey. Despite its simple outer appearance, sonnet 130’s internal mechanisms are used perfectly to further illustrate Shakespeare’s point. By using the traditional format of a Shakespearean sonnet, focusing on the renaissances’ popular topic of love, and satirizing this ideal, Shakespeare enforces the theme-outward appearances are insignificant-in all aspects of his sonnet.
Sonnet 130 is easily identified as a shakespearean sonnet because it contains all of the crucial aspects of one. It has 14 lines arranged in three quatrains and a couplet, an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme written in iambic pentameter, as well as many examples of assonance and similes. The first line’s simile, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” (line 1) sets the whole mood of the piece by saying something the reader is definitely not expecting to hear. This isn’t the only simile used. Although this is the only line that has a “like” in it, there are other similes used throughout the sonnet where “like” or “as” are implied. “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red,” (line 2) is just one example of this. “I have seen roses damask’d, red and white/ But no such roses see I in her cheeks,” (Lines 5-6) is the only metaphor in the sonnet, every other comparison is an implied simile. Many of these similes also contained examples of assonance. “Nothing like the sun,” (Line 1) is a simple example of this. This sonnet is structured exactly how you would expect it to be, however the subject is addressed in such an unconventional way that it will throw you off. Just because all of the numbers look right on paper does not mean that the piece is just like any other sonnet written in this format. It may share the same format with all of Shakespeare’s other sonnets, but the way it is written
Sonnet 130 is easily identified as a shakespearean sonnet because it contains all of the crucial aspects of one. It has 14 lines arranged in three quatrains and a couplet, an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme written in iambic pentameter, as well as many examples of assonance and similes. The first line’s simile, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” (line 1) sets the whole mood of the piece by saying something the reader is definitely not expecting to hear. This isn’t the only simile used. Although this is the only line that has a “like” in it, there are other similes used throughout the sonnet where “like” or “as” are implied. “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red,” (line 2) is just one example of this. “I have seen roses damask’d, red and white/ But no such roses see I in her cheeks,” (Lines 5-6) is the only metaphor in the sonnet, every other comparison is an implied simile. Many of these similes also contained examples of assonance. “Nothing like the sun,” (Line 1) is a simple example of this. This sonnet is structured exactly how you would expect it to be, however the subject is addressed in such an unconventional way that it will throw you off. Just because all of the numbers look right on paper does not mean that the piece is just like any other sonnet written in this format. It may share the same format with all of Shakespeare’s other sonnets, but the way it is written