Sonnet 130 Figurative Language

In the poems “Still I Rise” written by Maya Angelou and “Sonnet 130” written by William Shakespeare, figurative language is used to establish the importance of the personalities of women. Both poems delineate the personalities of women as strong and lively rather than portraying their physical appearances as perfect. Angelou’s “Still I Rise” emphasizes how strong-willed women can truly be during hardships. The personalities of women are significant because society today as a whole is concerned about the physical appearance of a woman such as their weight, hair color, makeup skills, the way they dress, etc. Toward the end of “Still I rise”, the speaker states, “I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, / Welling and swelling I bear in the tide” (Angelou

They wanted to speak up about their problems and display to people that hardships in life only make someone stronger. In other words, this strengthens the importance of personalities of women. In addition to figurative language exemplifying the importance of the personalities of women in “Still I Rise”, the sonnet “Sonnet 130”, written by William Shakespeare, expounds this theme by implying that personality is more important than physical attractiveness. Also, the speaker tends to describe their partner in a negative manner. Toward the middle of the poem “Sonnet 130” the speaker proclaims, “If hair be wires, black wires grow on her head” (Shakespeare 4). The speaker is using a metaphor to compare his lover’s hair to wires, which is a degrading comparison. Furthermore, the speaker is stating the false representation of women. The society of today’s world contains people who seem to be more concerned with a woman’s physical beauty rather than a woman’s personality. In “Sonnet 130” the speaker purposely excludes his partner’s personality to emphasize the importance of it. In other words, the speaker’s lover is not physically perfect, but he/she still appreciates her the way she