Rebecca Hernandez Mr. Thompson AP English September 6, 2013 In Sonnet 130 by, William Shakespeare, the tone of the first twelve lines contrast the tone of the last two lines, and the theme of this entire work is recognized because of this difference. In this sonnet the woman is not compared to a pleasant appearance, but is being praised for her flaws. Shakespeare presents the turn in the final couplet by stating that no matter how much is wrong with his mistress; he still loves her and thinks she is beautiful. The comparisons usually given in other love poems and sonnets are literally impossible because it is a false image compared to Sonnet 130. In the first twelve lines, the sonnet mocks the form, content, and typical petrarchan metaphors by representing a speaker who decides to tell the truth about his mistress’s appearance.
He appears to be solely interested in women’s sexuality, shamelessly objectifying them. For instance, when Claudio asks whether the world could ‘buy such a jewel’ as Hero, Benedick replies ‘yea, and a case to put it into’. The objectification of Hero as something valuable and desirable (but with no human emotion) is taken further by Benedick; his play upon Claudio’s romantic metaphor is witty but deeply sexist, as he is calling Hero worthless. Whilst a modern audience might see this as derogatory, an Elizabethan audience would have potentially been indifferent; in that age, men were superior; they could be an eligible bachelor, but if they married they would look for a chaste and wealthy wife- talk of ‘buying’ Hero is in a sense quite literal as Claudio would be ‘buying’ into her wealth. On the other hand, Shakespeare hints that this is a façade.
Unlike most of the other sonnets which are full of love and praise, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138 is about a less than perfect relationship which is based on lies and is complicated and difficult, yet “both speakers practice, again and again, a self-deceptive illusion, compulsively complying with it rather than giving it up” (Vendler 294). They continue to flatter each other for the sake of their sexual needs and the persona simply ignores his mistress’s adultery. When we look at the first two lines of the first quatrain, we see that there is a mutual deception. The persona complains that when his lover swears that she is true and faithful to him, he believes her but at the same time knows that she is lying. It is a paradoxical situation and it gets more paradoxical when we see that Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘lie’ perhaps is not a coincidence, as it has both meanings which suit the themes in the sonnet.
Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market is an open-ended story with ideas of femininity, temptation, sin, and redemption, and critics and readers seem to have a difficult time pinpointing a satisfying theme. However, the poem’s intended audience is perhaps even more widely debated. Some argue that it is a children’s story rich with lessons of good morals. It teaches the dangers of giving in to temptation, while also showing the importance of loving relationships. On the other hand, it is hard to ignore the erotic language and sensual imagery that are evident throughout the text.
Wilde uses his wit in order to expose the hypocrisy and artificial nature of his social environment. This is conveyed through Jack and Algernon’s “bunburying”, which has negative consequences due to the encounter between them and their female counterparts. Literary devices such as tone, inversion, and parallelism are used to communicate the theme of the passage. The tone of the passage expresses Wilde’s attitude toward what he is depicting. For example, social interaction in Victorian England was very formal and serious.
The characters’ likings change in the play is troubling, where Lysander is intensely in love with Hermia at first and with Helena at another point. “Transparent Helena! Nature shows art that through thy bosom makes me see thy heart” (Shakespeare and Foakes Act II). The aim of the play is not to observe the nature of true love but reasonably to mock misunderstandings that love brings. Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena are destined not to be romantic classics, but somewhat sympathetic figures thrown into perplexing situations of romantic farce.
Through “Hamlet”, Shakespeare is able to share his views of heterosexual relationships and express his feminist side. In the play, they young prince stands out from the male-dominated crowd as supposed “madness” overcomes him; he rejects the concept of heterosexuality as a real from of love and possesses feminine traits. Observation molds the human mind. Hamlet was raised witnessing and being part of an incestuous relationship with women, contrary of what females were supposed to represent, purity. He generalized them into a stereotype based on their double-sided nature of appearance vs. reality.
The one positive thing in the whole sonnet is some part the mistress is (like) when you feel she is not. She is a woman with flaws, her eyes do not shine like the sun , her lips are not coral red and her breast are not white as the snow but she is his love and he gives no false compare he is just trying to be dreadfully honest to her. My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. Sonnet 130, William Shakespeare lines 1-4; 1st quatrain The second and third quatrain he expands the description to occupy two lines each so that roses/cheeks, perfume/breath, music/voice and goddess/mistress each receive a pair of unrhymed lines. Thus creating the sonnet from becoming stagnant.
Explore how aspects of Love and Sex are presented in Much Ado about nothing Love and sex in “Much ado about nothing” are the most important themes in this play because they explore Elizabethan views of chastity and cuckoldry. From this play we can see that they regarded marriage and chastity as being important Benedick and Beatrice create humor through their wit and the way they seem to dislike for each other. The result of this is the positive resolution of their relationship: a declaration of true love, and finally a sincere and very open relationship, all ironically caused by deception. Benedick never listens to peoples suggestions and always ends his conversations with a ‘’jade’s trick’’. He thinks marriage reduces the quality of a man’s life.
Shakespeare uses a contradiction of idea to really show weather Macbeth really loves her. ‘From this time such I account thy love’ The reader may feel that there love may fall apart or that she is thinking about what he has done and the affects. He is using a contradiction this is stating several ideas – which she thinks she has given more of her love and affection to this than he has, which in this instance is unusual as he is going to be king not her. Secondly, this shows how that lady Macbeth is desperate for the power which will come from this. Shakespeare shows how brutal