Shakespeare

1. SONNET 130
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

2. Rhyme Scheme and Meter
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Meter:
Iambic Pentameter
10 syllables per line
Badum badum badum
badum badum

3. Structure of the Shakespeare Sonnet
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Three quatrains (4 lines) in which a
theory about the lover is presented
through conceits and similes.

4. Structure of the Shakespeare Sonnet
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Three quatrains (4 lines) in which a
theory about the lover is presented
through conceits and similes.

5. Structure of the Shakespeare Sonnet
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Three quatrains (4 lines) in which a
theory about the lover is presented
through conceits and similes.

6. Structure of the Shakespeare Sonnet
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
One couplet (2 lines) in which a
conclusion is presented or the
author has a revelation. Usually, the
claim in the couplet will contradict
what is said in the quatrains. This is
called an antithesis.

7. Rhyme Scheme and Meter
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Rhyme Scheme
A, B, A, B
C, D, C, D
E, F, E, F
G,G

8. Sonnet 130 – Q1
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

9. Sonnet 130 – Q2
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

10. Sonnet 130 – Q3
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:

11. Sonnet 130 – Couplet
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

12. New Vocabulary
A reddish-colored semi-precious stoneCoral
A dull, brownish-greyDun
Possibly an allusion to the red and white streaked York and Lancaster rose,
which the House of Tudor adopted as its symbol after the War of the
Roses. It honors the union of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White
Rose of York.
Roses damask’d
StinksReeks
HasHath
AdmitGrant
MisrepresentedBelied

13. Vocabulary Practice
 When he showed me his solution to the problem, I
was forced to _________ that it was the right one.
 _________ is the color of dirty dishwater.
 What is that strong smell? It absolutely __________ in
here.
 Her success has only made her ________ worse. She
constantly talks about the many prizes she has
received for her work.
New Words
admit
brag
dun
reek

14. Literary Terms
 Simile - A simile is an image used to show how two different
things compare to each other using words such as 'like' or
'as‘. For instance, “You are as lovely as a rose in bloom.”
 Name one metaphor and one simile used by the speaker in
Sonnet 130. Explain these in context.

15. Discussion
1. The poem is a parody of the typical love sonnet. Shakespeare uses
typical objects of comparison to describe his mistress.
What are these objects?
What is humorous about the way his beloved is described?

16. Discussion
2. What is the meaning of the last two lines?
Reflect on the tone of these two final lines. In what way do these
lines make you understand the speaker's feelings for his mistress?
3. What is the main theme of the sonnet? Elaborate.