Question

Which sentence best describes this excerpt from Shakespeare's Sonnet 130?My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;Coral is 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.I have seen roses damasked, red and white,But no such roses see I in her cheeks;The poet uses unusual metaphors to imply the intensity of his love.The poet admits that his mistress falls short of poetic ideals of beauty.The poet expresses his contempt for poetic ideals of beauty.The poet conveys his disillusionment with his mistress.

Answer 1

The correct answer is A.

In this Sonnet, Shakespeare mocks the Petrarchan ideals of the Elizabethan era in which women were presented as a perfect being and were constantly praised.

In Sonnet 130, Shakespeare shows that his love is truly genuine because he loves his mistress despite her flaws. He does not idealise her and presents her as flawless, but as a true human being with imperfections.

He uses unusual metaphors, in which he compares her with things that are more beautiful of better than her, to express that he loves he all the same.