Sonnet 130 Tone

In shakespeare’s sonnets 116 and 130, the use of an undaunted tone combined with images of love and physical beauty as well as unrelenting comparisons show love as timeless and ever-guiding. Although the judgemental tone of sonnet 130 and the undaunted tone of sonnet 116 do not fit well together, ultimately they both convey the same theme, that true love is ever-supporting and that love is not based on one’s outer beauty. In sonnet 116 the speaker conveys the undaunted tone by stating that true love is “never shaken” no matter any obstacle that may come its way {PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION}. True love is so strong that it will never decease, love “bears it even to the edge of doom”{PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION}. If true love is found by one,

In sonnet 130 a degrading tone is used to convey how the mistress “reeks” and “treads” on the ground, showing that she has no class and does not behave elegantly like a woman should{PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION}. The combination of the two tones, degrading and undaunted, shows that no matter how uncomely one is, true love surpasses the outer beauty of oneself and is timeless. The personification and the Imagery from sonnet 116 and 130 both talk about one’s outward beauty; the main message these two poetic elements convey is that love is not all about outer appearances, love surpasses that. In sonnet 116 the speaker personifies time to show that “Love’s not Time’s fool,” meaning that time has no control over love. Although beauty may fade with time, the true love one may have for another will last forever{PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION}. In sonnet 130 the speaker uses ugly imagery to describe how bad the mistress “reeks” and she is also poor and impoverished because her “breasts are dun”{PARENTHETICAL

The combination of both literary devices help to strengthen and support the undaunted tone which conveys the theme of everlasting love. The conceits and the metaphor both portray love by showing that no matter who someone is in love with, even if he/she does not have the best of physical qualities, the true love which one possess for another will always guide them and keep them out of any bad situations they may face. Love is “the star to every wandering bark,” it is ever guiding, it is tenacious, and it is never failing. Love is all of these things because it acts just as a star to a lost boat, as the star guides the ship out of a storm, love guides people of bad situations (storm in people’s lives){PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION}.Love is also ever-present, like the star which helps to guide the wandering ship back home. In sonnet 130 he mistress is portrayed as very uncomely, she does not smell good, her hair is rough as “black wires,” and she is also not elegant at all{PARENTHETICAL