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  • Essay / The parody and satire of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130

    Petrarch, a passionate poet who exemplifies the ideals of "courtly love" in his sonnets, rhapsody Laura, a married woman he may never touch . Inspired by a troubadour-style ode, his work is akin to a hymn to love, although without counterpart. This is a classic type of sonnet that glorifies the love of a person, usually a woman who is chaste, immaculately beautiful, and often beloved of a knight. Shakespeare, inspired by this method while rejecting its ideals, subverts our expectations of the traditional themes expressed in sonnets. In “[My Mistress's Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun]” (also known as “Sonnet 130”), Shakespeare rejects the idea of ​​idolizing the beauty of his love. Known in her work as the “Black Lady,” this woman seems torn by her apparent lack of classical conformity to the conventions of the time. In this sense, Shakespeare rejects the Petrarchan perception of love by actively highlighting its flaws. It is her way of ironically using the form of the coat of arms (the great praise of her lover's virtues) to depict the object of her affection. How does he convey his great devotion to the “black lady” while insulting every fiber of her being? At first glance, one might consider this poem to be decidedly unpleasant and almost abusive. However, Shakespeare's mastery of language manages to create a playfulness that finds a way to convey his ardent fervor for his beloved. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Sonnet 130 is a classic example of a sonnet written in a single stanza, using iambic pentameter, separated into three quatrains and a couplet final. The rhyme scheme is a traditional English or Shakespearean pattern of alternation abab cdcd efef gg. This form allows for a natural progression of emotions until a climactic final statement, encompassing one's position on the theme. Attention to form is also evident in his use of assonance repetition of the "I" sound such as "white" (l.3) followed immediately by "why" (l.3) or the use of l alliteration with “H” sounds. as “listen to her” (l.9). This gives the poem a flow of accented and unstressed sounds, dictating its musical cadence. It is a lyric poem because it is brief, expresses strong emotion in a condensed form, and retains musicality when read. When the poem opens with "My mistress's eyes are nothing like the sun" (l.1), it immediately establishes the ironic tone constantly used throughout the poem. The comparison of his love “which in no way resembles the sun” is in opposition to the stylized customs of “courtly love”. In fact, Shakespeare continually contradicts the clichés often used to describe his beloved by parodying her apparent lack of conformity to the norm. He compares her “brown” skin (l.3) to “snow” (l.3), her dull lips to “The coral is much redder than the red of her lips” (l.2), or her cheeks bland by stating "But I see no such roses on her cheeks" (l.6), emphasizing the fact that she is not fair as a beautiful woman should be or perhaps hinting at a lack of passion on his part. Pale skin, rosy cheeks and golden hair were considered the epitome of beauty during the English Renaissance era. He uses a metaphor of "black threads" (l.4) to describe her hair, further distancing it from Petrarch's "She used her golden hair to fly freely", connecting Laura's hair to "A celestial spirit, a living sun” (l.4). .12). We can also make a comparison with Laura's hair being ».