William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in literary history. His surviving works consist of plays, sonnets, and long narrative poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon; he married at the age of eighteen and had three children. He began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as The King’s Men. It is generally agreed that most of the Shakespearean sonnets were written in the 1590s. You might be asking yourself what is a Shakespeare sonnet? A sonnet, a form of poetry invented in Italy, has fourteen lines with a specific rhyme scheme. Most of Shakespeare’s sonnets’ themes are related to love. Sonnets 1-126 focus on a young man and the speaker’s friendship with him, and sonnets 127-52 focus on the speaker’s relationship with women. Most of the poems in the sequence as a whole are not directed to another person. The two concluding sonnets, 153 and 154, are free translation or adaptations of classical verses about cupid.
In sonnets 127 through 154, Shakespeare devotes most of his attention to addressing a mysterious “dark lady” a serious, irresistible woman of questionable morals who captivates the poet. Many of Shakespeare’s sonnets can be found in his book Shake-Spears Sonnets. I have chosen sonnet number 130 to write about and help you, as a reader, better understand.
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...