Analysis of "Sonnet 130/my Mistress' Eyes": Carina Chacon Engl 2600 Essay #3 "Sonnet 130"

Carina Chacon
Engl 2600
Essay #3
“Sonnet 130”
Analysis of “Sonnet 130/My Mistress’ eyes”
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” is an unordinary love poem. Usually love poems
emphasize all of the amazing qualities or traits your lover has-everything you admire. In this
case, Shakespeare describes a woman he/or the man whose view we are seeing by all of her bad
traits. The poem then ends with a line that states the love he has for this woman is true and deep.
I will review this poem as best as I can through both Formalist criticism and Reader-Response
criticism.
Through Formalist criticism, what stands out most about “Sonnet 130” is the language
used. As mentioned before, even though lines thirteen and fourteen end on a good note, the
language used prior to this line is not sweet or loving. The lines that stood out most to me where
“I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground”
(Shakespeare). These lines made me double read the line to make sure I understood he had said
that. Realistically we all know that not one person is perfect. We all have flaws and we choose to
accept them. In this line however, he goes as far to say as he has never seen a goddess walk.
You usually hear men that are in love mention how their partner is their all, everything. Also
something that is usually along the lines of “all of her imperfections make her perfect”. Here we
are experiencing a man list flaws and not give even one compliment; his saying that he loves her
feels to me as if he sees it as highlight. Yes she’s imperfect but crazy enough, he loves her. The
language used clearly emphasizes the point trying to be made-in my opinion being that he loves
all of her including the flaws.

Carina Chacon
Engl 2600
Essay #3
“Sonnet 130”
Part of the way he uses language in “Sonnet 130” leads into my next point being the
comparisons he makes. Shakespeare not only mentions the bad traits, he compares them to things
we see every day as if to highlight their differences between good and bad. The following line
for example “In some perfumes there is more delight/ Than in the breath that from my mistress
reeks” (Shakespeare). He could have easily said her breath reeks, instead he wants you to
compare the delightful smell of perfume to awful breath. The lines are also set up in a manner
that you read each point separately. These criticisms do not all blend together- each line makes
its own point.
Above I mentioned the way the lines are set up help make each point. “Sonnet 130” also
has a rhythm to it, so to speak. Every other line in the poem rhymes. For example in the first four
lines we see that line one ends with the work “sun; line two ends with the word “red”; line three
ends with the word “dun”; and line four ends with the word “head” (Shakespeare). The last
words of “Sonnet 130” on lines one and three rhyme and the last words on lines two and four
rhyme. These help feel the flow going and the reader reading smoothly. If I remember correctly,
I had once heard Shakespeare likes to change the tone at the end of his poems usually. He
definitely does so in this poem. Mentioned before you get a harsh tone/vocabulary in lines one
through twelve; then lines thirteen and fourteen are no longer critical but rather accepting and
loving.
The reason I loved “Sonnet 130” so much was that it has a realistic view. Love may feel
wonderful but really it is insane to believe the person you love is perfect or that love somehow is
perfect. In fact a film I recently saw comes to mind when discussing this poem. In Spike Jonze’s
HER, there is a line one of the side characters says that paraphrased says love is an acceptable
Carina Chacon
Engl 2600
Essay #3
“Sonnet 130”
form of insanity. I think this poem emphasizes it. If we were to talk about a car, house, or any
other object we would see these criticisms and think it was not worth it. Why care or put any
effort into something that is not perfect or good enough. Yet when we talk about love, everything
seems to be romanticized. You talk about the good traits, the great times, the amazing feelings
yet you will not mention the flaws, the bad times, the insecurity. Here, Shakespeare is making it
known that this man is aware of all of the bad traits, but he is also aware that he loves her. She
can smell badly, have ugly hair, be pale, have discolored lips and still he loves her. He does not
say that they make her perfect, he does not say that those qualities make her special in any way,
shape, or form- he is simply saying that despite all of the bad things he sees, and in the case of
her voice, hears. He is still deeply and truly in love with her.
“Sonnet 130” has been one of the most enjoyable poems I have read throughout this
semester. The poem accurately portrays what love is really like in the world. It is not this
amazingly romantic thing everyone attempts to picture it as. It is a pure emotion that usually
cannot be stopped or dimmed with physical flaws. Love is deep and strong while also opening
the person loving to a danger to hurt.

Carina Chacon
Engl 2600
Essay #3
“Sonnet 130”
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 130." n.d. Shakespeare Online. PDF. 30 July 2014.

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Carina Chacon

Analysis of “Sonnet 130/My Mistress’ eyes”

all of her including the flaws.

its own point.

the person loving to a danger to hurt.

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