I have chosen “Sonnet 130” by Shakespeare to analyze. This sonnet is devoted to the so-called “Dark Lady” and within the poem, the author describes his beloved woman. There are many interpretations of this poem, some of them seem to be more or less true, some seem to be written just for the academic purpose (analyzing the devices and techniques used, without mentioning its sense), but I guess it is rather a difficult task to interpret poetry, to symbolically penetrate into the author’s mind and to disclose the message encoded. The article, under consideration, in which the poem is analyzed, reflects not the whole truth about the message and some meditations within the sonnet, though, for the most part, he managed to cope with the analysis.
Firstly, the author of the article mentions that the message of the poem is simple i.e. that the dark lady’s beauty cannot be compared to the beauty of a goddess or to that found in nature. But in my opinion this is a device to bring up the message, which might be firstly regarded as no matter how beautiful or plain or even unattractive she is I love her as she is and of course she is worthy to be praised in sonnets, then the fact that she is not gorgeous does not diminish her virtues and does not disparages her against another, more beautiful women and finally, the understanding that she is just a human being is brought home to the reader through finding no false comparisons with the beauty of nature “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare.”
Then, the author of the article is concerned with a sonnet being classically regarded as a parody of Petrarch’s sonnets. I support this point and also think that the Renaissance Epoch brought so much exaggeration and sometimes pomposity, that Shakespeare, who was not a standard poet of the time was willing to create a parody to this sometimes false comparison. Breaking stereotypes of his time gives the poet great respect. Comparison with the charms of nature usually included the eyes, bright like a son, hair, fair as goddess’s hair. In Sonnet 130 the reader comes across the opposite comparison, making it sound humoristic and sometimes even sarcastic like in the following line of the poem “if hairs are wires, then black wires grow on her head.”
Next, the author of the article writes that Shakespeare does not attempt to idolize the dark lady; he points her physical drawbacks out, he supports his point of view, giving the line from the poem which says “I grant I never saw a goddess go; / My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground”. I find this claim to be true to life. Moreover, each line of the poem, starting with the first one and ending with the 12th one is proof of that in itself. These 12 lines give an impression that the author rather underestimates the appearance of the woman, he loves than elevates it.
Finally, the author of the article is questioned, having compared sonnet 49 with 130 one, whether Shakespeare pours out his real feelings to this lady or it is rather a matter of some ulterior sentiment, perhaps that the dark lady is not deserving of the narrator’s fine words. I would give a negative answer to this question. Notwithstanding that all the sonnets are connected, it is clear from the abovementioned that Shakespeare is willing to praise his woman, even if she is a dark lady.
Inferring, I suppose it is necessary to point out that the Sonnet 130 by Shakespeare is a commemorated poem, thanks to the deep, which is put within it. So, it gives a vast area for analysis and sometimes is either misinterpreted or is given not enough deep interpretation. The author of the article under analysis for the most part managed to encompass the meaning, been put within the poem, and proposed an issue for further thinking.