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Figurative Language And Imagery In Shakespeare's Sonnet 130

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Figurative Language And Imagery In Shakespeare's Sonnet 130
“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare…”, from William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (13). This is one of his most well-known sonnets and it also happens to be one of my favorite poems of all time. Shakespeare does not use words to falsify his mistress’ image; however, he uses them to tell the reality of her. This is what makes his love for her so special. She does not have to be perfect or even seem close to it for him to feel as he does about her. The use of diction, figurative language, and imagery in William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 reveal the narrator’s true love for his mistress despite her flaws. In this sonnet, Shakespeare uses many techniques to depict how the narrator views his mistress. His use of diction greatly describes how the mistress in the poem looks, smells, and even how she speaks. He uses descriptive words like …show more content…
Jones and MacKinnon even state that the narrator talks about the woman he loves in “unflattering” terms which lends credibility to his claim because even though he does not think she is attractive, he still loves her. This may be true or the narrator may just portray her as this way because he knows that beauty does not define her and he wants others to realize that you do not have to compare a woman to something amazing for them to be beautiful. Shakespeare’s use of diction, figurative language, and imagery depict how much the narrator truly loves his mistress despite all the “picture-perfect” qualities she does not have. Sonnet 130 is one of my favorites just because the narrator tells nothing but the truth. A woman’s beauty should not have certain standards. Every woman is beautiful is their own way and they should not have to be compared to something unrealistic to make them seem beautiful. Nevertheless, it is what is on the inside that matters; it is not always about looks. True love will never fade just because beauty
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