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How does the Speaker of Sonnet 130 feel about his mistress

Author

Matthew Martinez

Updated on April 03, 2026

“Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” Summary. The speaker describes the eyes of the woman he loves, noting that they are not like the sun. He then compares the color of her lips to that of coral, a reddish-pink, concluding that her lips are much less red.

How does the poet compare his mistress in the poem Sonnet 130?

This sonnet compares the speaker’s lover to a number of other beauties—and never in the lover’s favor. Her eyes are “nothing like the sun,” her lips are less red than coral; compared to white snow, her breasts are dun-colored, and her hairs are like black wires on her head.

What does the speaker mean when he says his mistress treads on the ground?

Unlike the immortals, the speaker’s mistress “treads,” or walks, upon the ground. Whereas a goddess, one must presume, would have a certain elegance in her movements, the speaker’s love is every inch the mortal as she treads upon the ground like any normal human being.

Does Shakespeare admire his lady in Sonnet 130?

He is not going to exaggerate (or “belie”, 14) the beauty of the woman he loves in this way. … Nonetheless, the poet admires her beauty, suggesting that she is really beautiful, but adamant that he is not going to be drawn into a game of falsely praising that beauty. Sonnet 130 is a kind of inverted love poem.

In what ways does the lover describe his beloved in Shakespeare's Sonnet 130?

130 describes his beloved’s beauty in a practical way. Like other poets, he did not compare his beloved with fairy. To him beloved’s eyes are not like bright sun, her lips are not as red as corals, her breasts are not as while as snow but ‘dun’.

Who is the speaker talking to in Sonnet 130?

Julia Esau (Author) In William Shakespeare’s (1564 – 1616) “Sonnet 130”, published 1609 in his book “Shakespeare’s Sonnets”, the speaker talks about his mistress who does not correspond with the ideals of beauty. The speaker compares her with beautiful things, but he cannot find a similarity.

What is the speaker trying to tell his mistress about time?

Answer: In the poem, the speaker is trying to persuade his mistress that such coyness is a waste of time, and that she should give in to her desires and sleep with him.

Is the speaker's love sincere in Sonnet 130?

In Sonnet 130, the speaker’s love is sincere, and he emphasizes how sincere it is by comparing it to insincere, cliched expressions of love.

What is the message of Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare?

The main idea in Sonnet 130 is to challenge those poets who use too much hyperbole when describing their loves. The use of hyperbole and cliché originated with the poetry of ancient Greece and Rome. It was a convention during the Elizabethan era – and the royal court – in both literature and art.

Why does the speaker criticize his beloved in Sonnet 130?

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks… As any she belied with false compare. Shakespeare is therefore playing with our expectations of a love poem. … By criticising his beloved, he is actually only reinforcing his love for her.

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What is the mood of Sonnet 130?

The tone of Sonnet 130 is definitely sarcastic. Most sonnets, including others written by Shakespeare, praised women and practically deified them.

What is the speaker trying to tell his mistress about time in the poem To His Coy Mistress?

Overview: “To His Coy Mistress” is a metaphysical poem in which the speaker attempts to persuade his resistant lover that they should have sexual intercourse. He explains that if they had all the time in the world, he would have no problem with their relationship moving this slowly.

What is the speaker trying to convince his mistress to do in To His Coy Mistress?

“To His Coy Mistress” Speaker The speaker of “To His Coy Mistress” is an anonymous lover, though he may be a stand-in for Marvell himself. He spends the poem trying to convince his “mistress” that she should have sex with him.

What does the speaker mean by describing his mistress as coy?

Now, for “coy.” Most commonly, if a person is coy, he or she pretends to be shy, quiet, and reserved. (Early uses of the word imply actual shyness, quietness, and reserve.) The poem’s title then suggests then that the speaker’s mistress only pretends not to want to have sex with him.

What is Shakespeare talking about in the sonnet?

“Sonnet 18” is one of the best-known of the 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. In the sonnet, the speaker asks whether he should compare the young man to a summer’s day, but notes that the young man has qualities that surpass a summer’s day.

What does the end of Sonnet 130 mean?

Sonnet 130 is like a love poem turned on its head. Usually, if you were talking about your beloved, you would go out of your way to praise her, to point all the ways that she is the best. … Then, at the end, he changes his tune and tells us about his real and complete love for her.

How does the speaker of the poem define love?

This sonnet attempts to define love, by telling both what it is and is not. In the first quatrain, the speaker says that love—”the marriage of true minds”—is perfect and unchanging; it does not “admit impediments,” and it does not change when it find changes in the loved one.

What is the imagery in Sonnet 130?

William Shakespeare introduces the reader to a person who is being described as the key of one’s heart, in a criticizing society. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 conveys a need to revolt against society beauty norms in order to free oneself from pressuring traditional views of attractiveness.

How does the poem To His Coy Mistress presents the conflict between love and time?

The poem treats the conventional theme of the conflict between love and time in a witty and ironic manner. The poet opens by telling his mistress that, given all the time in the world, he would spend hundreds of years praising each part of her body, while she could spend hundreds of years refusing his advances.

How is time personified in the poem To His Coy Mistress?

Time as the Enemy: Time is personified throughout the poem as a villain who seeks to send the speaker and his mistress to the grave. … The association between time and death is cemented as “Time’s winged chariot” draws the lovers closer to “the deserts of vast eternity.”

What does the speaker entreat of his love in To His Coy Mistress?

1. What does the speaker entreat of his love? Answer: The speaker is asking his mistress to make the most of their time together and to “devour” and “tear” each other.

What adjective does the speaker use to describe the behavior and attitude of his mistress?

(To His Coy Mistress) What adjective does the speaker use to describe the behavior and attitude of his mistress? The speaker says that she is coy, or modest, but flirtatious. She is holding back when she should take advantage of love.

What is the subject matter of the poem To His Coy Mistress?

To His Coy Mistress is Andrew Marvell’s best known poem. It focuses on the lustful desires of a man attempting to entice a female virgin, the mistress, into sexual intimacy. The poem is a tour de force, and has come to be known as a seduction poem or carpe diem (seize or pluck the day) poem.

How Is To His Coy Mistress a three part argument?

The speaker in Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” makes three arguments to convince his lady to cavort with him: he is in love with her, time is fleeting, and her beauty will fade. … There is nothing about her that makes him want to rush.

What is the definition of coy and why is the mistress described as such do we as readers really think she is coy explain?

In describing his mistress as coy, the speaker is here suggesting that her supposed shyness or modesty is simply a front. In reality, a woman who is coy is simply leading on her lover, making herself as alluring as possible through this pretense of modesty and being uninterested.

Why Was To His Coy Mistress written?

It’s likely Marvell wrote “To His Coy Mistress” in the 1650s, a period where Puritanism was popular in England. Puritanism, a belief system that emphasized rejecting the pursuit of personal pleasures, clashes with the appeal that the speaker makes to his lady in the poem.

How does To His Coy Mistress reflect the values of Carpe Diem?

Marvell’s ‘To His Coy Mistress’ is built on ‘Crape-Dime‘ theme. In his poem we find a lover more active in the courtship urges his lady-love to make love at her youth. … The only object as we understand is to enjoy the bliss of mutual love hence the ‘Carpe-Diem’ theme becomes the supreme goal.