Love in Shakespeares Sonnets 18 and 130 Essay - 703 Words

Almost four hundred years after his death, William Shakespeares work continues to live on through his readers. He provides them with vivid images of what love was like during the 1600s. Shakespeare put virtually indescribable feelings into beautiful words that fit the specific form of the sonnet. He wrote 154 sonnets; all of which discuss some stage or feature of love. Love was the common theme during the time Shakespeare was writing. However, Shakespeare wrote about it in such a way that captivated his reader and made them want to apply his words to their romances. What readers do not realize while they compare his sonnets to their real life relationships is that Shakespeare was continually defying the conventions of courtly love in his†¦show more content†¦However, love had countless forms then as it still does today. The fact that he was writing about a man does not in any way lesson his feelings towards this person. The way in which he expresses how deeply he loves this man almost makes the object of his affection seem god-like. He turns this mortal man into a perfect being by immortalizing him with his words. And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or natures changing course untrimmd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou awest; Nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest. (18.7-12) In lines 7 through 12, he is saying that the mans beauty will never fade and he will never die because every time someone reads his poem he will live again. Although it was common to compare a beloveds beauty to the beauty seen in nature, it was not common for the object of the male writers affection to be another male. Shakespeare will never be just another poet because of his originality and honesty when describing his romances. In sonnet 130, he wrote honestly about the beauty of the woman he desired. The differences regarding his physical attractions to his two loves, the fair man and now the dark woman, are astounding. My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun; / Coral is far more red than her lips red; / If snow be white then herShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Sonnet 18 And 130900 Words   |  4 Pages1). These are both two of the famous lines from William Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 and 130. William Shakespeare was an intelligent English playwright, poet, and dramatist during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He is known as one of the greatest playwrights of all time. Sonnet 18 and 130 are two of Shakespeare’s most famous poems. Sonnet 18 is a love poem about how he compares the woman’s love to a summer’s day. Sonnet 130 has a different approach. 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