Question

Read Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130.”

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.

Which statement best explains the two possible interpretations of the sonnet?

A) The three quatrains satirize common poetic comparisons of one’s beloved to beautiful things, suggesting that the speaker’s feelings are not strong. However, the sudden reversal in tone in the final couplet surprises and moves through its sincerity and depth of feeling, suggesting strong emotions.

B) The speaker ridicules his mistress through his negative comparisons of her to idealized objects in the first 12 lines, which implies that he has lost interest in her. In the final couplet, though, he humorously reverses his tone and exaggerates her charms, from which readers can infer that he is being playful rather than hurtful.

C) Some readers believe that the speaker uses satire to ridicule his mistress. Others find that his tone remains affectionate even while he speaks of her hair being “black wires,” her breath reeking, or her feet mundanely treading the ground.

D) The humorous tone in the first two quatrains show that the speaker does not take love seriously. However, in the third quatrain, he speaks of loving his mistress’s voice and that she moves as he imagines a goddess would; this shows that he is serious about love after all.

Answer 1

The correct answer is A. The three quatrains satirize common poetic comparisons of one’s beloved to beautiful things, suggesting that the speaker’s feelings are not strong. However, the sudden reversal in tone in the final couplet surprises and moves through its sincerity and depth of feeling, suggesting strong emotions.

Explanation:

Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" is divided in quatrains which are stanzas of four lines in which the end of each verse or line is marked by a comma, semicolon or space and the end of each stanza is marked by a period. During the first quatrains the author describes the woman he loves by emphasizing her lips and cheeks are not red, her breast is dun and her hair is like wire, additionally, in the first three stanzas the author use satire which is the use of exaggeration to show some negative aspect as all the physical features are exaggerated, for example, it is not possible to have a hair that is exactly like wire. On the other hand, in the last stanza which has six lines with ABAB rhyme and therefore is a couple the author states how much he really loves that woman by comparing her to a goddess. Thus, it can be concluded this sonnet uses satire in the first three quatrains to compare the woman to beautiful things, which suggest he might not love her. But in the end the tone changes to really express the love the author has for the woman.

Answer 2

Answer:

A) The three quatrains satirize common poetic comparisons of one’s beloved to beautiful things, suggesting that the speaker’s feelings are not strong. However, the sudden reversal in tone in the final couplet surprises and moves through its sincerity and depth of feeling, suggesting strong emotions.

Explanation:

In the beginning of "Sonnet 130," Shakespeare describes his lover in a way that is not very pleasant. The reason is that he makes fun of the typical poetry of the time. Then, poets used to portray completely beautiful women and compare them to exquisite things, such as flowers and goddesses, which he makes clear. However, when Shakespeare says "And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,  As any she belied with false compare." he means that he does not need embellishing words to describe his lover because he loves her for who she is.