Language

Style of writing

The language of “Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare is formal and may at first seem complicated and old-fashioned. It is, in fact, quite straightforward for its time because the poet tells us exactly how he sees his mistress.

The sonnet features a large number of nouns in order to describe the mistress: “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.” (ll. 1-4). 

The nouns are used to describe the speaker’s mistress in particular. The sonnet seems to present a list of elements to which poets usually compare their mistresses (the sun, coral, snow, and golden wires). Shakespeare’s speaker, however, seems to be s...