Sonnet 130

Exercise 1 Page 141

1. EyesSunNegative

2. LipsCoralNegative

3. BreastsSnowNegative

4. HairBlack wiresNegative

5. Cheeks’ redness - RosesNegative

6. BreathPerfumesNegative

7. VoiceMusicNegative

8. Way of walking - A goddessNegative

Exercise 2 Page 141

• Divinity →  Goddess

• Beauty →  Roses

• Purity → Snow

• Harmony → Music

• Brightness → Sun

• Pleasantness → Perfumes

Exercise 3 Page 141

• (line 3) “Her breasts are dun”

• (l. 4) “Black wires grow on her head”

• (l. 8) “The breath that from my mistress reeks”

Exercise 4 Page 141

• B: The lady is a real woman, not idealised

Exercise 5 Page 141

• William Shakespeare says that he loves her woman even if she is not perfect.

Exercise 6 Page 141

• B, C, F

• In Sonnet 130, William Shakespeare describes his beloved highlighting her blemishes; the choice is uncommon because it hurts against courteous love code, which usually presents women like angels. Despite the choice, Shakespeare does not put the beloved in a bad light, but he offers a better- and more realistic- idea of the woman to the reader.

Exercise 7 Page 141

1. quatrains

2. regular

3. conventional

4. parody

5. bright

6. soft

7. roses

8. angels

9. beloved

Exercise 8 Page 141

I think people are usually more interested in who has a good appearance; indeed, our attention is captured by beauty and it is suggested by actresses and actors who are always tall, slim, well-built and so on.

What you can do is to go pass beyond appearance and to try to appreciate everybody as it is.