Sonnet 20 Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

Sonnet 20: A Woman’s Face with Nature’s Own Hand Painted

A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change as is false women’s fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue, all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created,
Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.

Summary of Sonnet 20: A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted

Popularity of “Sonnet 20”: Written by acclaimed renaissance poet, playwright, and actor, “Sonnet 20” is a love poem. It comments on the exceptional beauty of the fair youth. The writer compares the youth with a woman to show his attractive features and graceful appearance. This sonnet became popular on account of its style, subject matter, and thematic strand.
“Sonnet 20” As a Representative of Beauty: This poem is a declaration of the speaker’s love for his friend. It begins when he compares his feminine face to a painting made by nature. He calls him both the lord and the lady of his love and desire. Moreover, he compares his tender and caring heart with that of a woman’s heart, having a touch of humor. To him, a woman’s heart possesses a corner for cheating and lust. However, the fair youth is steadfast and true. He simultaneously praises his bright eyes and compares him to a commanding man and an attractive lady. Toward the end, the poet once again accounts for his inconsequential love for the youth. He says that he is honored to have him in his life. His body may appeal to the women, but his love is for the speaker only.
Major Themes in “Sonnet 20”: Natural beauty, love, and desire are the themes layered in the poem. The speaker describes someone with a woman’s appearance, yet he is a steadfast and true man. Although his features are traditionally delicate, soft, and feminine, he shares strong masculine nature. Throughout the poem, the speaker shares his romantic attraction toward the fair youth by complementing his beauty and natural disposition. Using vivid imagery and various other poetic elements, he tries to persuade his readers that the fair youth is the epitome of beauty, truth, and desire. Making him the center of attraction, the speaker tries to show how lucky he is that the fair youth accords his love only to the speaker.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Sonnet 20: A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted

literary devices are the poet’s tools that allow them to add variety to their simple poetic pieces. Shakespeare has also used many devices in the poem whose analysis is as follows.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling” and the sound of /i/ in “A man in hue, all hues in his controlling.”
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession such as the sound of /m/ in “the master-mistress of my passion” and the sound of /t/ and /l/ in “Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ in “Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth,” and the sound of /t/ in “A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted.”
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change as is false women’s fashion.”

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Shakespeare has used imagery in this poem, such as “An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling”, “Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth,” and “But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The writer used beauty as an extended metaphor in the poem to praise the exceptional beauty of his friend.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Sonnet 20: A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Couplet: There are two constructive lines of verses in a couplet, usually having the same meter and rhyme scheme. This sonnet ends with a couplet, which usually reveals the central idea of the poem.
End Rhyme: End rhyme means the rhyming of the ending words. Shakespeare has used end rhyme in this poem such as “rolling/controlling” “created/defeated” and “passion/fashion.”
Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter having five iambs per line. The sonnet follows iambic pentameter such as; “A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted.”
Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. There are three quatrains in this poem.
Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABABCDCD in the octave and EFEFGG in the sestet.
Sonnet: A sonnet is a fourteen-lined poem usually written in iambic pentameter. This Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains and one couplet.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful for anyone to comment on feminine beauty.