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Essay / Analysis Sonnet 18 and 130 - 630
Katlynn TalkingtonDr. CriinitiEng. 20019 March 2014The image of loveThe love that a person has for someone is not the same for others. They can look at their love through nature or simply through their beauty. Shakespeare has the ability to explain his love for someone using nature as a reference. Looking at two of Shakespeare's sonnets 18 and 130, explore the differences and similarities between them. In Sonnets 18 and 130, both show Shakespeare's knowledge to develop his love and respect. In Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, also known as "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" depicts and discusses the love and beauty of his beloved. Also, the speaker refers to his love being more gentle, temperate, and just than all the beauty he can see in nature. He also explains that the sun can be weak and nature's beauty is uncertain: "And often her golden complexion darkens / And every belle of belle sometimes declines" (6-7). At the end of the poem, the speaker explains that the beauty of the person mentioned is not so short because their love will live on as long as people still read this sonnet. The beauty of his beloved lasts longer than nature, for even though nature is beautiful, flowers and other things must still die: "As long as men can breathe or eyes can see / as long as life, this and that gives you life” (13 -14) Also, the speaker compares his love to a summer day, but does not really say anything specific nor that the qualities given to his beloved are more superior to a summer day, which can make the reader understand that his beloved can stay young, beautiful and never die. Furthermore, the sonnet is a declaration of respect for the beauty of his beloved; sum...... middle of paper ......es they create different images, which compare humans to nature. Additionally, both sonnets create the idea of a courtly love sonnet, but Sonnet 18 has a better explanation or image of it. The speaker's beloved is far too perfect and cannot be compared to anything, even if it could be the happiest day of the year, it still wouldn't do justice to the beauty of her lover. In Sonnet 130, there is still talk of love, but the speaker is sarcastic and makes fun of the usual love poem. Regardless, the first part of Sonnet 130 is about his mistress's unattractiveness; the ending explains that despite her imperfection, the speaker loves her for who she is. Although it seems difficult to determine whether the speaker or Shakespeare wants his beloved to be perfect or imperfect, it shows that Shakespeare appreciates beauty, flaws, and nature..