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Poetry - My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 praises real love without clichés. Explore how honest imagery, rhythm, and structure challenge idealised beauty while building a witty, convincing argument.
Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
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 damasked, 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.
William Shakespeare
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 damasked, 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.
William Shakespeare
1 .
Who is the speaker (narrator) of this poem?
Shakespeare
The mistress
The mistress' lover
The reader
2 .
'My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun' - What does this line mean?
The speaker's mistress has bright, shining eyes
The mistress' eyes are not yellow
The speaker's mistress has flaming eyes
There are no similarities between the mistress' eyes and the sun
3 .
'If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun' - What does 'dun' mean?
Pure white
Dull or mousy brown
Dazzling white
Pale cream
Even if you do not know the meaning of the word 'dun', by this point in the poem you can work out that the mistress is the opposite of the extravagant comparisons
4 .
Which of the following is true?
The speaker describes the beauty of his beloved with similes
The speaker believes his mistress is hideous
The speaker pokes fun at the clichéd similes used to describe women's beauty
The speaker believes that clichés are the most accurate way to describe someone
5 .
'I have seen roses damasked, red and white / But no such roses see I in her cheeks' - What do these lines imply?
The speaker implies that his mistress has cheeks much rosier than 'damasked' roses
The speaker implies that he has examined his mistress' cheeks, expecting to see roses
The speaker implies that his mistress' cheeks resemble flowers other than roses
The speaker implies that his mistress' cheeks resemble roses in other ways
The speaker implies throughout that he has been led to believe that metaphors and similes are to be taken literally
6 .
'If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head' - Which of the following best describes the tone of this line?
Grotesque
Ambivalent
Reflective
Insolent
By the time that we read of his beloved's reeking breath, we get the picture! The metaphors and similes used to describe women's looks are ridiculous
7 .
What is the rhyme scheme of this sonnet?
AABB BBCC CCDD EE
ABCA BCDB CDEC EE
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
8 .
'My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground' - The poet contrasts his beloved's movement with that of...
a rose
an angel
a goddess
a man
9 .
All sonnets have a 'turn', or change. In Sonnet 130, the turn occurs in which lines?
Lines 3-4
Lines 7-8
Lines 11-12
Lines 13-14
The sonnet was originally an Italian poetic form. The Italian term for 'turn' is volta
10 .
What is meant by the final couplet?
The speaker believes his love is at least as wonderful as women who are falsely praised
The speaker admits he has been lying about his beloved
The speaker believes that women lie about their looks
All of the above
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