Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, Essay Example

A Comparison and Contrast of Corinthians 13 and Sonnet 130

Introduction

These two texts are love themed and very precise in their description of the concept of love. On one hand, William Shakespeare composed Sonnet 130 in a theme seemingly in contrast with usual descriptions of one’s lover. Instead of painting a picture of unrealistic, lustful and exotic beauty like some of his earlier sonnets or like commonplace descriptions dedicated to lovers, Shakespeare chose to paint a very unattractive outward look for the speaker’s lover. As shall be explained in detail hereafter in the paper, Shakespeare took a realistic, real world look at what love is and crafted a loving portrait for the speaker’s mistress that is borne despite a not-so-exotic visual appeal of the said mistress.

Experts agree that Sonnet 130 is one of Shakespeare’s rare unromantic poems, without an equal in his other works (Thiselton, 2000 b). This sonnet illustrates the nature of love in real life, where it blossoms even when the significant other lacks in physically attraction. A good example to elaborate this particular trait of the sonnet is the initial three lines. The lines open the poem with a picture of a woman who is not attractive at all. The lines, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” for instance or “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red” negate the features of beauty as it was construed at the time.

In the Elizabethan age in which Shakespeare’s works were set, a woman who had ‘her breasts … dun’ was not beautiful. Shakespeare is simply saying that the woman in question is plain looking, has non-glistening eyes, non-seductive voice and dull breasts. As Thiselton (2000 a) says, if you do not scrap under the surface and read the thematic intent of the sonnet, you will easily feel that the woman is being sarcastically insulted rather than praised.

On the other hand, Chapter 13 of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians as is found in the bible, also talks of love. The essay will elaborate on how the love spoken of here differs with the love Shakespeare was writing about.  Paul of Tarsus, the author, writes very passionately on the subject, but his idea of love is worlds apart from that of Shakespeare.  Paul’s love is principally the kind of love Christians should have not for their lovers but for everyone else. In the original texts of Greek, the word used by Paul ‘?????’ in the text has been translated as Agape or sacrificial love.  While the King James Version translated this word as charity, most translations into English always used the word love, prior and after the King James Version.  The word love has been construed as the nearest approximation of the expression Paul was making.

In the next section of the essay, the differences depicted in the two texts as concerns their themes, their expressions, their settings, their subject matter and their tone will be discussed in detail. Thereafter, the essay will then elaborate on some of the numerous comparative traits borne by each.

A Contrastive Analysis of Corinthians 13 and Sonnet 130

The contextual difference might not be very overt, but a Christian will be able to pick it out from the very first line of Shakespeare’s sonnet. The bible is addressing Christians – those who have faith in Jesus Christ – and their love for each other (Keener, 2005). Shakespeare is addressing the love of a man and his mistress (not even his wife).  Some analysts have referred to this difference as two kinds of love one objective (Corinthian’s) and the either subjective (sonnets).

Secondly, the language use is very distinct in the two texts. Shakespeare uses symbolism and rich metaphors to denote the intended meaning. Instead of saying it simply that ‘love is irrespective of looks’ the sonnet uses natural objects like the sun, ice, nails etc to negate the denote the idea of beauty. Paul on the other hand is direct and precise in saying what love is and what it is not. Instead of saying that the mistress’ eyes are not dazzling, Shakespeare writes so descriptively and metaphorically as, ‘My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun’. Paul on the other hand is more non-descriptive, direct, plain and precise in saying, ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud…’ This difference in language use is actually indicative of the type of text one is reading, the bible or a sonnet.

Thirdly, the difference of the object of love is also starkly distinctive. While the sonnet has its love directed at a particular woman (Thiselton, 2000), the biblical text has love directed at an infinite object that is indefinite in description. The object of Paul’s love can be a man, woman, child, wife etc. Paul’s love is for anybody while Shakespeare’s love is for a woman with whom one has intimate relations. With such a different target of address, both kinds of love are thus different and cannot be described in similar terms, just like the love for one’s siblings cannot be described equal to the love for one’s car.

Thematically, the two texts are worlds apart. The sonnets objective is to mock other love poems and offer a realistic evaluation of how love blossoms. Shakespeare’s intent is in establishing that love is not always dependent on physical characteristics of a lover. That is why, he says that “I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/ that music hath a far more pleasing sound”. This means that although the mistress does not have an angel like voice, he still loves to listen to her. Again he says, “And Yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ as any she belied with false compare.” In essence therefore, Shakespeare’s intent is in describing the basis of a sexual relationship. He portrays that love should be based on inner beauty and personality rather than on lustful external beauty. According to Mabillard (2000), it is clear that Shakespeare means to shun idealized fantasies of beauty in sexual relations by making a jest/mockery of typical love poems.

This is in complete contrast to the thematic intent of the Corinthian letter. Paul is describing the qualities of love. When Shakespeare talks of the conditions on which love blossoms, Paul is describing what is love i.e. ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs…” Each of these two authors achieves different intents with their text, just as they were meant to or as were their purposes.

There is also a difference of the kind of reward that each of these writers has in mind if the message of their writing is accepted. To Paul, the love he writes about is depicted in the social relations between one and his or her community. For instance, he is describing the love for the poor people in the community in, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing”.  If the love depicted by the Corinthian text is embraced the Christian would easily please God and live a worthy life as a faithful disciple of Christ. Shakespeare on the other hand is talking about a love that could only be rewarded by strong or happy sexual relations (Mabillard, 2000).

A Comparative Analysis of Corinthians 13 and Sonnet 130

Despite their numerous differences as elaborated above, these two texts have very many similarities. As was stated in the introduction for instance, these two texts have one central subject, that of love. Their interests are constrained within expressions of love and the exchange of love between the individuals in a social setting. Again, both the Corinthian letter and Shakespeare’s sonnet are realistic accounts of love, unpretentious and unexaggerated (Thiselton, 2000 a).

The texts help a reader to contextualize the qualities of love. In Shakespeare’s context, love cannot be ‘belied with false compare’ of beauty. In the Corinthian context, love is ‘kind, patient, forgiving, truthful…’ In essence, therefore, both these texts help in conceptualizing what love is and what it is not (Keener, 2005).

In language use, the two texts achieve an amazing feat by expressing so much within a limited confine. The words are precise, brief and packed with meaning, such that in a few lines, the two texts describe love in an amazing amount of detail. Finally, the two texts agree on the fact that the love they are speaking of is not based on any preconditioned features in recipients. For Shakespeare, love is granted without any demands in perfection, beauty and attraction. To Paul, Corinthians must express love to all, the poor, the ones who do wrong, the ones that err, the ones that untrustworthy etc. There is an agreement here in that love is given irrespective of the traits attached to the recipient.

References

Keener, C. (2005). 1-2 Corinthians. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.

Mabillard, Amanda. (2000). An Analysis of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, Shakespeare Online. Retrieved on 12 March 2010. From http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/130detail.html

Thiselton, A. (2000). The First Epistle to the Corinthians: a commentary on the Greek text. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Thiselton, A. (2000). The sonnet: its origin, structure, and place in poetry. Folcroft: Folcroft Press.