Hello all poetry-lovers,

You can find William Shakespeare's sonnet 130 below.

Sonnet 130 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun

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 damask'd, 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.

What do you think about this poem of Shakespeare's? Would anyone of you be interested in analysing this poem?

Hi julielai,

I know that it always sounds a bit suspicious when someone asks others to analyse a poem for them, or to answer a history question for them. People would easily think that you're trying to get others to do your homework, wouldn't they? However, I think it's interesting to ask others to express their views on a certain topic (e.g. this sonnet), and then I'd tell them what I think. This way we would get to discuss the poem together, which would be most rewarding for each and every one of us. There is no point doing this if I post an analytical essay on the poem here with all the answers, so to say. Instead, I could give you some guidelines as to how you could approach poems in an analytical way.

Let me know what you think.