Analytical review on the presentation on women in shakespaeres sonnet 130 - Essay Example

Analytical review on the presentation on women in Shakespeare's sonnet 130 The portrayal of women in literature has been one of the important topics of discussion in literary researches and it has differed from time to time and from author to author. William Shakespeare is a renowned poet and dramatist, who has made incredible contribution to the portrayal of women in literature and his plays and sonnets offer an important source to analyze the role of women in society as well as literature. In his sonnet 130, Shakespeare evidently expresses his conception of women in contrast to the traditional idealization of women, illustrated by the sonnets by Petrarch to his love Laura, idealizing and comparing her beauty to the natural imagery.

In this sonnet, Shakespeare uses and subverts the conventions of Elizabethan love poetry and the representation of women in poetry. "Many critics read this poem as a parody of contemporary love poetry and it certainly has a mocking tone. Some critics suggest that Shakespeare is satirising the conventions in order to mock the Woman." (Raymond, 167) Through description of the woman's physical beauty and her characteristics, Shakespeare affirms his conception of women and, indirectly, challenges the representation of women in the traditional literature and romantic poems.

In a reflective analysis of the portrayal of women in literature through various centuries, it becomes lucid that women have been portrayed differently by writers of different ages and there is a note of cynicism by the time of Shakespeare who breaks the conventional image of the mistress in his sonnet 130. Chaucer's Wife of Bath is the stereotype of women during the period, who is a champion of female rights, and there were several other stereotypes of women, by the 16th century, promoted by the courtly love tradition and the emergence of the sonnet and Arcadian idylls.

In contrast to the idealised ladies of most sonnets or the shepherdesses of the pastoral verses in the 16th century, who have little similarity to real women, "Shakespeare was mocking the floweriness of traditional Elizabethan love poetry when he wrote Sonnet 130." (Sonnet 20 and Sonnet 130) Significantly, the representation of women by the time of Shakespeare makes a note of cynicism and he breaks away from the conventional image of the mistress in his sonnet 130. "By the time of Shakespeare one can detect a note of cynicism - in Sonnet 130 he writes 'my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.

' and proceeds to turn the conventional image of the mistress on its head." (Portrayal of women in literature) A close analysis of the sonnet 130 by Shakespeare confirms that the poet establishes his individual conception of women, in contrast to the conventional sonneteers and his contemporary Elizabethan poets. In this sonnet, the poet obviously makes a parody of the Dark Lady who is clearly too short of fashionable beauty. However, more important is the way the poet constructs the image of women unlike the traditions which deify women or compare them to natural elements.

"Whereas conventional love songs by other poets make their women into goddesses, in Sonnet 130 the poet is merely amused by his own attempt to deify his dark mistress." (Senna, 92-3) A note of cynicism is evident all through the representation of women in Sonnet 130 and Shakespeare manifestly breaks away from the conventional image of women. Thus, the poet maintains, "I grant I never saw a goddess go; / My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground." (Shakespeare, lines 11-2) Therefore, it becomes quite obvious that Shakespeare challenged the traditional Elizabethan love poets who would compare a woman's beauty to something as great as the sun [when he says, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (line 1)].

As Kerrigan maintains, the sonnet by Shakespeare "does not resemble.any of the many loathly lady sonnets written in the renaissance, because it refuses to endorse praise by mispraising." (Kerrigan, 22) In conclusion, Shakespeare establishes his realistic notion of women, unlike the traditional sonneteers and his contemporary love poets who deify their beloved, through description of the woman's physical beauty and her characteristics in the Sonnet 130 which is "a wry reminder that all beloved ladies are something other and something less than they are said to be.

" (Booth, 454) Therefore, an analytical review of the presentation of women in Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 offers a convincing illustration of how women are depicted in literature through the various centuries and by different writers and Shakespeare's depiction of women surpasses that of his contemporaries and the traditional sonneteers. Works Cited Booth, Stephen, ed. Shakespeare's Sonnets. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1977. P 454. Kerrigan, John. The Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint. New York: Penguin Books, 1995. P 22. "Portrayal of women in literature.

" Crossref-it.info. Oct 21. 2009. . Raymond, Adrian. Shakespeare's sonnets. William Shakespeare. Heinemann. 1995. P 167. Senna, Carl. CliffsNotes on Shakespeare's Sonnets. John Wiley and Sons. 2000. P 92-3. Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 130." Shakespeare's sonnets. Ticknor and Fields. 1865. P 136. "Sonnet 20 and Sonnet 130." Valpo.edu. Oct 21. 2009. .