Perspectives

Literary period

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” was probably written between 1590 and 1609. It therefore dates from the early modern period of English literature, which has been important in forming the basis of English literature ever since.

“Sonnet 130” was published in 1609 as part of a collection of 154 sonnets by Shakespeare. The s…

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Comparison with other sonnets

“Sonnet 130” shares various features with other sonnets by Shakespeare. Both “Sonnet 130” and “Sonnet 116” use the technique of comparing the subject to something it is not in order to create an image of the subject. For example, in “Sonnet 130”, Shakespeare writes: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; / Coral is far more red than her lips’ red.” (ll. 1-2). In this poem, the speaker suggests that typical poetic comparisons do not do justice to his mistress’ beauty. 

“Sonnet 116” uses love itself as a subject in the poem, rather than a human lover, but the poem uses a similar technique of setting up negative comparisons: “Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds, / Or bends with the remover to remove.” (ll. 2-4) If love changes when faces with challenges, it is not love at all.

However, whereas “Sonnet 116” presents an image of ideal love, “Sonnet 130” attempts to portray a more realistic image of the subject. Rather than imagining a perfect, general form of love, in “Sonnet 130” there is an emphasis on the reality of the speaker’s mistress’ imperfections: “And in some perfumes is there more delight / Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” (ll. 7-8)

“Sonnet 130” and “Sonnet 18” both reject the convention of comparing the subject to beautiful things, although they do this in different ways. In “Sonnet 18”, the speaker sets up a comparison between the subject and a summer’s day, but then argues that the comparison is insufficient because the young man is in fact lovelier than a summer’s day. 

In “Sonnet 130”, the speaker suggests that the conventional similes used by poets to describe their lovers are unrealistic and meaningless: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; / Coral is far more red than her lips’ red”.