A Comparison of Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare and Francis Petrarch
William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" and Francis Petrarch's "She Used To Let Her Golden Hair Fly Free" both deal with the issue of ideal and unconditional love. However, they go about explaining this love in exceedingly different manners. Petrarch often depicts his lover as beautiful and angelic. On the contrary, in "Sonnet 130", Shakespeare describes his loved one by describing her human-like characteristics, implying that she is not angelic, but mundane, and the poem has thus been categorized as "anti-Petrarchan".
In "Sonnet 130", Shakespeare seems to concentrate on his mistress's physical imperfections by portraying to the reader that this woman is not an attractive creature. He draws quite a picture with his words by exclaiming that "coral is far more red" (2) than her drab lips, her hair is of "black wires" (4), "roses damasked" (5) surpass the color of her cheeks, and "in some perfumes is there more delight" (7) than the stench of this woman. She cannot sing to save her life because "music hath a far more pleasing sound" (10). And by proclaiming that this woman "when she walks, treads on the ground" (12), Shakespeare implies that this woman does not posses angelic qualities, that she is of this earth. Despite his constant implications of imperfection concerning her, this sonnet is not about an unsightly female. The key to the poem is unlocked in the ending couplet, for he declares that even though the woman is unattractive, he is able to see her inner beauty, and loves with his heart, not with his eyes. This is evident because he thinks of his "love as rare" (13), and she "belied"(14), or was misrepresented, for her inner beauty
exceeded her looks. This concept introduces an ironic tone, because most people would judge a book by its cover and would not be able to fall in love with someone like his mistress, but he overcame her physical attributes and fell in love with the mind, not the body.
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In "She Used To Let Her Golden Hair Fly Free", Petrarch renders the story of his love. Petrarch uses religious words to describe his mate such as "unearthly" (11) and by seeming "divine among the dreary folk" (12), he insinuates that her qualities place her above humans.
He also remarked that this maiden was not "mortal" (9) like most women, but exhibited "angelic" (10) attributes, giving the reader an image of a heavenly angel. Petrarch presents a strong, clear message to his reader by his use and repetition of religious diction. By using holy terms on numerous occasions, he is trying to explain just how heavenly this girl is. He also revealed that his "flame burned furiously (8) for her, because of her immense divinity. Unfortunately her beauty faded with time, however Petrarch had come to realize that her inner beauty was just as paradisiacal as her looks, and so "the wound bleeds on" (14).
Both of these sonnets illustrate the notion that true love cannot be based on looks alone. This would be described as superficial love. Divine love can solely be obtained by looking past one's outer shell, and beholding the mind or soul of he or she that dwells in the artificial body, for genuine beauty lies on the inside. Nevertheless, the two authors go about describing the appearance of their maidens in distinct fashions. Petrarch's sonnet is an expression of his blessed love for his mate wherein he describes her as attractive and sublime. And even though the loveliness of this woman dwindles with time, it is her inner beauty that entices his love for her. Opposite this stylistic technique is Shakespeare, who starts his sonnet by delineating his beloved mistress who is satirically unbecoming. It is for this reason that this particular sonnet has been labeled "anti-Petrarchan". Yet at the end of the sonnet Shakespeare pronounces his undying love for her, because he was able to look beyond the skin, and see the true beauty of her spirit.
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A Comparison of Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare and Francis Petrarch. (2023, Feb 21). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/a-comparison-of-sonnet-130-by-william-shakespeare-and-francis-petrarch/
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