Question

What was your interpretation of Sonnet 130 before watching the video? How has watching the video changed your interpretation of the poem?

Answer 1

well to me it may change the poem bcauese it has the you know the emotion or conflict this may help but i am trying to help

Answer 2

My initial interpretation of the poem was that the speaker is praising the woman he loves. He says that her physical beauty is very different from what is traditionally considered the embodiment of beauty. The lady described in the poem has dull eyes (not at all bright like the sun), hair like “wires” instead of a silken mane, lips that are not close to the color of coral, and breasts that are nowhere close to snow in color. In other words, the speaker's lover does not match the ideals of beauty in the speaker's culture. But, in the final couplet, the speaker says that he still loves the lady despite her physical flaws or realistic features.

The video reinforced my interpretation, but it also added new information about how the speaker of the poem is mocking traditional love poetry, in which women are idealized as having flawless skin, red lips, and bright eyes. The poem seems to poke lighthearted fun at the clichéd images of women that was common in love poetry of the time.