Comaparing Sonnets

Alejandro Tenjo
Professor Courtney Medel
English 11G
7 December 2012
Comparative Analysis: Sonnets 130 and 20
In trying to analyze Shakespeare’s sonnets, is hard to find any hint of mirth ormerriment. That is in stark contrast to light-hearted Irish limericks I love so much: “There was a young girl from Nantucket…” It can be argued that limericks are not “real” poetry. But people enjoythem and repeat them. When was the last time at a party a friend said: “Hey, guys. I gotta great Shakespearean sonnet for you”? I would say for social comparison that Shakespeare’s sonnets are classicalmusic while limericks are country music. There is a place for each in the realm of literature. Now with all that said, lets dissect two sonnets from “The Bard”. While sonnets 130 and 20 are similar indescribing female beauty, sonnet 130 is addressed to one specific woman and love for her, as sonnet 20 is talking about female beauty in general without specifying one particular woman.
In thebeginning of 130, Shakespeare speaks about the eyes of his mistress and slowly goes down her anatomy. The next stop is the “Coral-red” of her lips. Next are the cheeks where “But no such roses see I inher cheeks” (6). In line 7 he alludes that her breath is like perfume “Then in the breath that my mistress reeks” (8). Even the sound of her voice enchants him “I love to hear her speak, yet well Iknow” (10). Finally he talks about the light tread as she walks “My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground” (12). This observation about womanhood is very similar to a later poem by Lord Byron:“She walks in beauty like the night, coming in on little cat feet”. Sonnet 20 is also a tribute to the beauty and sly charms of women. In the first line he says “A woman’s face with Nature’s own handpainted” (1). He believes the face of a woman is like a great portrait by a great artist. As in Sonnet 130, Shakespeare describes the beauty of her eyes. Love is a common thread in both sonnets. It...