Sonnet 130 — A Realistic View on Love
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” is a masterful rejection of the idealised love poems of his time. Instead of praising his mistress with lofty, almost unattainable comparisons, he paints a vivid, honest portrait of her. The poem is a striking example of how a poem can be both “realistic” and profoundly beautiful.
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 damask’d, red and white;
And yet no such roses do I see in her face.
For I have never seen a rose as bright as this;
I have never seen a woman as bright as that.
Yet I still love her because she is real.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any, she belied with false compare.
The poem’s structure—three quatrains followed by a closing couplet—creates a rhythmic journey from the initial comparisons to the final, unexpected conclusion that the poet’s love is “as rare” as the idealised poems of his contemporaries.
It is clear that Shakespeare is not merely describing the “beauty” of his subject in abstract or ideal terms, but rather offering an unvarnished portrait that is both deeply human and deeply poetic. He demonstrates that one can celebrate a beloved’s physical appearance—her eyes, her skin, her smile—without resorting to exaggeration or false praise.
In the poem, he states that his mistress “has no nose” that “smells like a rose.” This, too, is a literal observation that underscores the theme of a realistic, honest love. He does not claim that his mistress has a “good nose” or a “good nose shape.” By contrast, the poem continues to build a narrative around how the subject is the best person he could possibly have ever known—though not a beautiful one.
Because Shakespeare did not use the term “beauty” in the poem, we cannot say that he is describing the beauty of the subject. We do, however, see that the poem’s message is that a lover can love their beloved in a way that is both realistic and enduring. Shakespeare’s words are a reminder that we do not have to be idealised in our portrayal of a beloved to express love. We can, instead, describe them in a way that feels true, honest, and complete.