The speaker in Sonnet 130 challenges the Petrarchan tradition of putting the beloved upon a pedestal to show the lover's affection.
Instead of exaggerating the beloved’s physical features by comparing them to the sun, coral, snow, roses, perfumes, goddesses, the speaker in the Shakespeare sonnet 130 declares that he can proclaim his love for her while maintaining her humanness.
First Quatrain – “…black wires grow on her head”
Instead of exaggerating the beauty of his lady’s eyes by claiming that they outshine the sun, this down-to-earth speaker asserts that those eyes are “nothing like the sun.” He fails to describe the eyes at all, but as he continues through other body parts, he becomes more expressive.
Her lips are not as red as coral, though they are red, just not as red as coral. Her breasts are not as white as snow; they are actually a shade of brown, as all humans beings are various shades of brown. And her hair instead of silky strands look more like “black wires” sticking out of her head.
Second Quatrain – “no such roses see I in her cheeks”
The speaker lets us know that he has experience the beauty of a variegated rose, but he does not see those roses on the cheeks of his beloved. And he admits that some perfumes are actually more pleasing to his nose than the breath that exhales from his beloved.
The meaning of the word “reek” has changed somewhat from Shakespeare’s time. It meant “exhale” or “exudes” in the 16th and 17th century at the beginning of modern English, but now it designates an unpleasant odor.
Third Quatrain – “I grant I never saw a goddess go,—“
In the third quatrain, the speaker does something that has been conspicuously lacking in the first and second; he says, “I love to hear her speak . . .” So far the beloved by comparison to the sun, coral, snow, roses, and perfume has come up lacking, or so it seemed. All of these natural phenomena seemed to outshine her, but now he has said something positive about her and it happens to be her voice that he loves.
However, he does admit that even though he loves her voice, he knows it is not as “pleasing” as music. And although he has never seen a goddess walk, he knows that his beloved just “treads on the ground.” But, as far as the speaker knows, maybe a goddess would just tread on the ground also.
The Couplet – “I think my love as rare”
In the couplet, the speaker swears that he loves his mistress just as much as those poets who exaggerate their beloveds’ features. He loves her simply because she is rare, or a unique individual.
If he claimed her eyes were like the sun, one who looked would see that they are not, and her reality would belie, that is, make false, that comparison. The speaker wishes to proclaim his love but in truthful, human terms; he no doubt believes that that is also rare.
Other articles on Shakespeare:
Sonnet Commentaries
Sonnet 1, Sonnet 2, Sonnet 3, Sonnet 4, Sonnet 5, Sonnet 6, Sonnet 7, Sonnet 8, Sonnet 9, Sonnet 10, Sonnet 11, Sonnet 12, Sonnet 18, Sonnet 19, Sonnet 116, Sonnet 126, Sonnet 130
