Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 141
In sonnet 141 (CXLI), Shakespeare speaks again of physical and emotional aspects of the persona’s lover, however this sonnet differs in that the woman’s physical appearance and ways of conduct are not appealing at all to the persona. From the start of the first quatrain, the persona declares his lover unappealing-- “In faith I do not love thee with mine eyes, For they in thee a thousand errors note…” (Lines 1-2) The beginning line is rather deceitful because Shakespeare’s pattern from previous sonnets continues with either an explanation of the persona’s blind love that goes beyond physical beauty or the persona’s love which withstands the test of time and aging beauty; however the second line unexpectedly continues by the persona stating that his lover has “a thousand” faults. The word used is “errors,” and when read one is likely to make a mistake in the line, due to the complicated word order and diphthong in “thousand,” as well as the alliteration. In the next line of the quatrain, the pe
In the second quatrain, the persona speaks of each of his senses being displeased by his lover-- “Nor are mine ears with thy tongue’s tune delighted, Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone, Nor taste, nor smell…” None of the persona’s senses are pleased-- not by the sound of her voice, or her “taste” and “smell,” or is she stimulating his sense of touch. Unlike a traditional beauty in most of Shakespeare’s sonnets, this woman does not have an appealing smell or “delightful” voice, and gives the reader a more relatable character. In reality, not every person is the apple of perfection, and this quatrain gives the reader a sense of earthly and more practical qualities. The harsh tone of this quatrain, and the insulting manner in which the persona exemplifies his lady’s flaws, are recognized through clever syllabic imperfections. While the pattern of this sonnet consists of 10 syllable lines, line 5 breaks the mold with 11 syllables. As the persona points out, his lover does not have a deligh
Some topics in this essay:
CXLI Shakespeare,
quatrain persona,
tone quatrain,
,
five senses,
quatrain begins “but”,
quatrain persona declares,
nor five senses,
lines 1-2,
“taste” “smell”,
begins “but”,
persona declares,
nor five,
persona saying,
emphasizes idea,
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Approximate Word count = 692
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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