In the present text i am going to analyse William Shakespeare's Sonnet 20 to point out common elements with the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde, after a careful analysis of the text.

The poem is part of a composition developed in 154 sonnets. The themes treated in the composition are beauty, dead and love.

Sonnet 20 is arranged into a single stanza of fourteen lines.

The sonnet deals with the description of a young man, probably Shakespeare's lover. His name isn't quoted.

The poet calls him “master-mistress” to underline his uniqueness and beauty.

In lines from 7 to 12 William Shakespeare brings to surface how the Youth attracts admiration of other men and how he seduces women.

Finally the poet makes a distinction between the love between a man and a woman.

Moving now on with the more detailed connotative analysis , the reader will soon realise the presence of an anaphora, consisting on the repetition of “a woman”. The poet underlines the unique

beauty of the man. Through a paraphrase in lines 11 and 12, the poet hides his omosexuality.

In the sonnet William Shakespeare wants to pass on a important message :he points out the nobility of love.

As well as the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, the sonnet highlights the themes of pleasure and beauty