Introduction
William Shakespeare is one of the world’s most well-known playwrights and poets. Among his numerous works, sonnets occupy a special place. Shakespeare wrote over one hundred sonnets, all of which have been translated to a large number of languages. Sonnet 130 is one of the most widely recognized sonnets in various parts of the world. The present paper will offer a stylistic analysis of this literary masterpiece.
Main body
Sonnet 130, called “My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun,” is written in the same form as all other Shakespearean sonnets. There are fourteen lines that are arranged into three quatrains and a couplet. This rhythmical pattern is known as “Shakespearean sonnet,” although other poets used to employ it before Shakespeare. The rhyme scheme of Sonnet 130 is the following: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG. The most important role belongs to the ending couplet. Whereas quatrains develop the essence of the poetic story and explain the poet’s ideas, opinions, or problems, the last two lines serve as a summing up.
Frequently, the couplet is in contrast with what has been mentioned in the previous twelve lines. The sonnet under consideration has exactly such structure. In quatrains, the author compares his beloved woman to nature, and the latter’s position is winning. The girl’s eyes are “nothing like the sun” (1), her lips are not as red as coral (2), her breasts are not as white as snow (3), her hair is not golden but black (4). The mistress’ cheeks do not have “roses” in them (5-6), and her breath does not bring as much “delight” as some perfumes do (7-8). The sound of music is “far more pleasing” than the girl’s voice (9-10), and her walk is not heavenly (11-12). However, even despite all of these unfavorable comparisons, the main idea is hidden in the couplet ─ in the last two lines of the sonnet. Here, Shakespeare says that even though nature may have much more beautiful features, the beauty of his mistress is “as rare / as any she belied with false compare” (13-14).
The metrical line used in the sonnet is iambic pentameter. This line presents the rhythm established in the words that rhyme in each line. The small groups of syllables forming the rhyme are called feet. In the iambic meter, the foot is represented by two syllables: the stressed one follows the unstressed one. The word “pentameter” means that there are five iambic feet in every line. This rhythmical pattern is the most common for traditional English poetry. The meter is also called decasyllabic verse because it contains ten syllables.
Despite being composed of only fourteen lines, the sonnet contains a variety of stylistic devices and expressive means. The most common of them is the comparison group represented by similes and metaphors:
- “eyes are nothing like the sun” (1): simile;
- “black wires grow on her head” (4): metaphor;
- “no such roses see I in her cheeks” (6): metaphor.
With the help of metaphors and similes, the author creates a portrait of the girl and makes it vivid for the reader. Also, the use of these stylistic forms makes the text more expressive.
There are several instances of antithesis. The use of this device helps the author to emphasize the contrast between two objects that are being described:
- “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun” (3);
- “If hairs be wires [in the meaning “golden wires”], black wires grow on her head” (4);
- “I have seen roses damasked… / But no such roses see I in her cheeks” (5-6);
- “I grant I never saw a goddess go / My mistress when she walks treads on the ground” (11-12).
Another device used by Shakespeare is inversion. In the line “I have seen roses damasked” (5), the attribute “damasked” follows the object “roses,” while indirect word order, should be vice versa. In the following line, the author says “no such roses see I” (6) instead of “I see.” The next instance of inversion is in the sentence “in some perfumes is there more delight” (7): the direct word order would have been “there is.” Another example is “the breath that from my mistress reeks” (8): the non-inverted version would have been “that reeks from my mistress” since the predicate should precede the object. In the sentence “yet well I know” (9) the author changes the position of the adverbial modifier and places it before the subject-predicate group, although the normal word order is contrary to that. All of these instances of inversion help to make the lines more expressive and draw attention to particular details that would have probably remain unnoticed if the word order was not reversed.
Phonetic devices used in the sonnet also help to make it more pronouncing and melodic. Although not numerous, these expressive means are rather suitable. Shakespeare employs alliteration and assonance:
- “My mistress’” (1): alliteration;
- “nothing like the sun” (1): assonance;
- “then her breasts” (3): assonance;
- “her head” (4): alliteration;
- “roses damasked, red” (5): alliteration;
- “such roses see” (6): alliteration;
- “hear her” (9): alliteration;
- “I grant I never saw a goddess go” (11): alliteration;
- “when she walks” (12): alliteration.
In Sonnet 130, Shakespeare uses hyperbole and meiosis to exaggerate some qualities and understate others:
- “eyes are nothing like the sun” (1): meiosis;
- “no such roses see I in her cheeks” (6): meiosis;
- “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare” (13-14): hyperbole.
By using these figures of speech, the author draws particular attention to some qualities. He insists that the eyes of the girl are not bright at all ─ “nothing like the sun” (1) and her cheeks are absolutely pale ─ there are “no roses” (6) in them. However, in the last two lines, in the couplet, Shakespeare uses hyperbole that aims at emphasizing how extraordinarily beautiful his mistress is: “as rare / As any she belied with false compare” (13-14). By employing this device, the poet draws a picture for the reader that shows a girl more gorgeous than anything or anyone else in the world.
Conclusion
The analysis of William Shakespeare’s poem “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun (Sonnet 130)” allows making several inferences. The sonnet has the form of three quatrains and a couplet, the meaning of which is contrasting to the quatrains. The rhythmical pattern is iambic pentameter. The poet uses a variety of stylistic devices, such as simile, metaphor, assonance, alliteration, antithesis, inversion, hyperbole, and meiosis. All of these devices make the sonnet memorable, giving special prominence to particular features, objects, and attributes.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun (Sonnet 130).”Poets.org, n.d., Web.