The Satire of the Petrarchan Conventions on Ideal Love in William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130

Love at first sight is believed by many, but would someone really devote their life to a person they barely know? Petrarch, a poet of the Italian Renaissance, saw a beautiful woman named Laura one day while attending mass and fell madly in love with her. Influenced by her beauty, he went on to write 366 poems to her, though he barely knew her. Even after Laura's death, Petrarch continued to write poems about his perfect idealized love, complimenting her in every way. These motifs found in Petrarch's poems of admiration later became known as the Petrarchan Conventions. In Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, a speaker expresses his love for his mistress by parodying the Petrarchan Conventions. Unlike Petrarch's love sonnets to Laura, he does not give constant praise but instead seemingly insults his mistress by exposing her flaws when compared to the idealistic woman. However, as the poem progresses, it begins to be clear that the speaker is mocking the concept of "the perfect woman" and the Petrarchan

Conventions, and reveals his true affection for his mistress. The speaker opens the sonnet harshly, pointing out all his mistress's flaws and comparing her to the perfect woman in the Petrarchan Conventions. He criticizes every part of her, saying that her eyes are "nothing like the sun," and that "coral is far more red than her lips red." Her hair is "black wires" and her skin is not "snow...white" like the perfect woman, but "dun." The juxtaposition of the speaker's mistress and the perfect woman seemingly deems her as a lesser being than the perfect woman and therefore unworthy of love. If the poem is thought over, however, one may realize that although not flattering, all of these descriptions are not condescending at all. These negative words like "nothing" and "dun" signify the speaker's rejection of Petrarchan ideals, giving the poem a satirical tone. The speaker does not call her skin pure white, because it is not. The speaker does not compare her eyes to the sun, because her eyes are not flaming spheres of gas. The speaker does not call her a goddess, because she is a human being. Through the repeated emphasis that his mistress is completely ordinary, the speaker builds up the poem, leading up to a one final "however" statement in the end.

As the poem progresses further, the speaker's tone softens, and he subtly begins to praise his mistress. He is still completely honest, however, with his praise, and does not exaggerate. He states that he "loves to hear her speak," albeit he understands music is more pleasing to his ears. Her voice may not be like an angel, but the speaker still loves the clever and witty comments she makes. The speaker acknowledges that she "treads on the ground" like everyone else, meaning there is absolutely nothing outstanding about her. Though she is an absolutely normal human being, the speaker still loves her and appreciates every little flaw and feature she holds. She does not need to be special to make her special to the speaker, as revealed in the last couplet of the poem. He considers their "love... rare" although she is not perfect. She is what the speaker considers a 'real' woman, not a clichéd idealized woman of the Petrarchan Conventions.

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Love is not merely superficial attraction between two people; it is an unconditional deeper understanding between a couple although neither may be perfect. Shakespeare understood this - Petrarch did not. Through the satirical use of the Petrarchan conventions, Shakespeare ultimately disproves and exposes the absurdity and cliché of so called 'love' based on only looks. People do not need to be perfect for their love to be special.

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