An Appreciation of Shakespeare’s Content and Style in Sonnet 130

The following appreciation essay will be dissecting and analyzing William Shakespeares great use of both content and style, in his piece Sonnet 130.

Firstly, the language used in this piece of poetry adds to the feeling that you may get whilst reading over the 14 lines of this early-dated masterpiece. Emotions run wild as Shakespeare describes the undying affection that he sees within his mistress. If this were to be written in plain English, the meaning would still be the same, but the Shakespearian language has always been thought of as more romantic (such as the French language.) We can be easily fooled, what we think is structured in a romantic language, is actually a harsh depiction of a woman who is far from perfect, as we may perceive her to be in this piece. Shakespeare describes his mistress eyes as not being bright like the sun, that her lips were ashen, her breasts were dark, she had coarse hair, she was pale, she had a harsh voice and her breath reeks. Nevertheless, the language used can form some type of trickery, of course, Shakespeare states the beauty that he sees, and the beauty that he knows lies within her. He uses honesty as his key form of getting his point across the board.

Shakespeare does not refer much (or at all) to some of the defining factors of styles of romantic poetry, factors such as Atmosphere or Setting. On the other hand, his character depictions of the mistress are strong, as he is trying to portray her with the undying affection that he felt, the love that he had for her.

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The point of view that Shakespeare uses is the first person, as we can read in line 5 & 6. [] | have seen roses damasked, red and while, but no such roses see I in her cheeks [] We are experiencing in the past tense, in the first person, Shakespeares views and depictions of his mistress in fine detail.

Another factor that is implemented in the Sonnet is atmosphere through comparison. Atmosphere does not play a major part in this particular piece, meaning it does not stand-alone. The atmosphere is used as a voucher for certain characteristics or traits found in the mistress, whether they are exaggerations or reality.

The structure and organization of the content is not very consistent, it doesnt have much fluidity. The words all piece together nicely, but his depiction of the mistress goes from her eyes, to lips, to breasts, to hair, cheeks, her scent and her breath. It is completely possible that in the view of Shakespeare, the organization is that of the order

of importance, yet that wouldnt be for us to depict as we are not certain if it in-fact is the order of importance. A way that this piece could be structured/organized into is in comparison or contrast, as we read that Shakespeare compares the mistress, rather parts of the mistress to items we are able to find in nature. Comparing the beauty that he sees reflecting from her, to that of nature.

There is no specific audience to whom this is directed, yet it is entirely possible that it would be leaning towards a late 16th century audience, due to the fact that it is the circa in which this Sonnet was written. It would not have been possible to say that Shakespeare knew who he would be directing his poems toward, yet in a completely different era, than which the poem was written, we seem to be able to appeal to the piece of literature with great ease. We see the language as something not very fluent to our current society, yet we seem to be able to relate to it, and enjoy it to a level, which was the same 450+ years ago.

The subject of the Sonnet is nothing but obvious. Shakespeare depicts his mistress with great deal, comparing her to several factors and distinctions that can be found in nature, in the scenery that we see around us. The content is the main asset of this poem, being that the subject is based on one sole person, and William Shakespeares views, feelings and emotions towards said person.

This concludes the dissection and analysis of William Shakespeares content and style in Sonnet 130: My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun. This is an excellent piece of poetry that depicts a woman in great detail, through the eyes of William Shakespeare. Her beauty is portrayed in comparison to the nature that was common as scenery. roughly around the late 16th century and early 17th century timeframe. We are shown that a certain form of language does not die out over time, as it adds a level of romanticism to the piece of work. We also can pick out the fact that despite pretentious reality, with the truth true beauty can be shown throughout time.

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