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Sonnet 130, William Shakespeare

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips ____________;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her ____________.
I have seen roses damasked, red and ____________,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more ___________
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I ___________
That music hath a far more pleasing sound.
I grant I never saw a goddess ____________;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the___________.
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
1. Listen to the poem and complete the gaps: http://youtu.be/xP06F0yynic
2. Replace the underlined words or phrases with the ones given below:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

I swear
lover, lady
varied
walks heavily
ridiculous comparisons
emits, smells
misrepresented

h. admit
i. dull brown colour
j. has

3. What is the main idea of the poem?

A William Shakespeare Lesson on Love - http://keepcalmandteachenglish.blogspot.gr/

4. How different is Sonnet 130 from Sonnet 18 below? Listen and discuss:
http://vimeo.com/44720862

SONNET 18 PARAPHRASE
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Shall I compare you to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: You are more lovely and more constant:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: And summer is far too short:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, At times the sun is too hot,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; Or often goes behind the clouds;
And every fair from fair sometime declines, And everything beautiful sometime will lose its
beauty,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; By misfortune or by nature's planned out course.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade But your youth shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor will you lose the beauty that you possess;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, Nor will death claim you for his own,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; Because in my eternal verse you will live forever.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long as there are people on this earth,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee. So long will this poem live on, making you immortal.

http://www.shakespeareonline.com/sonnets/18detail.html

A William Shakespeare Lesson on Love - http://keepcalmandteachenglish.blogspot.gr/

5.
Now choose a subject and write your own poem using
Shakespeares sonnet as a template
E.g.: My boyfriends neck is nothing like the swans..

My ______________________s ______________________ is / are

nothing like the

______________________;

_______________________ is / are far more ______________________ than his / her /

its______________________;
If _____________________ be ______________________, why then his / her / its
_______________________ is / are ______________________;
If ______________________ be _____________________, ____________________ grow on his / her /
its _______________________.
I have seen ______________________, ______________________, _____________________ and
_______________________,
But no such ______________________see I in his / her / its ______________________;
And in some ______________________ is there more delight
Than in the _______________________ that from my _______________________.
I love to hear his / her / its ______________________, yet well I know
That _______________________ hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a _______________________ ;
My _______________________ when he / she /it _______________________,
______________________ on the _______________________;
And yet, by heaven, I think my ____________________ as _______________________
As any he / she/ it belied with false compare.

A William Shakespeare Lesson on Love - http://keepcalmandteachenglish.blogspot.gr/

Key:
1. and 2.
My mistress' (lover, lady) 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 (dull brown colour);
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked (varied), red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks (emits, smells).
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath (has) a far more pleasing sound.
I grant (admit) I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads (walks heavily) on the ground.
And yet by heaven (I swear), I think my love as rare
As any she belied (misrepresented) with false compare (ridiculous comparisons).
3. The poet truly loves his lady and finds her beautiful however plain she may be and he refuses to idealize
her in the way it was the fashion at the time.
4. It is the complete opposite.
5. Students can let their imagination run wild and write a funny poem following the pattern of comparing
parts of someones body with objects, using similes and hyperbole, or choose to be more serious.
(Adapted from: http://www.folger.edu/eduLesPlanDtl.cfm?lpid=904)

A William Shakespeare Lesson on Love - http://keepcalmandteachenglish.blogspot.gr/