Analysis of Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun

William Shakespeare 1564 (Stratford-upon-Avon) – 1616 (Stratford-upon-Avon)



My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks,
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know,
That music hath a far more pleasing sound.
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
    And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
    As any she belied with false compare.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Poetic Form Shakespearean sonnet 
Metre 1101110101 1011111011 1111110111 111101101101 111101101 1111011001 0010111101 1001111101 1111011111 1101011101 1111010101 1101111101 01110111111 1101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 609
Words 125
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 464
Words per stanza (avg) 123
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 22, 2023

37 sec read
134

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". more…

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