Shakespeare Voices Two Combating Views of Love in His Collection of Sonnets

Shakespeare was a man of many words and many contradictions. Upon reviewing some of the 250 sonnets he wrote in his lifetime, there are many themes that he addresses. Some regard the aspect of growing up from a child to a man, some describe misfortunes, gains, losses, and the idea that immortality exists through literature. However, there are two pieces in particular that focus on two combating attitudes on the subject of love. Sonnet 18 concerns idealistic love and beauty. The woman described in this sonnet is a picture of perfection who would be hard not to love. That is, at least, on the outside. In contrast, Sonnet 130 describes a mistress as an average woman with not quite as many flawless qualities.

Sonnet 18 opens with the famous line. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" and then goes on to describe her as being much more "lovely and more temperate." There are several down falls that summer has that she doesn't. These down falls are that summer is too short, the sun can be too hot, and, sometimes, the winds are too rough. She will never have these loathsome qualities and he loves her all the more for it. The poem doesn't delve into the woman's personality or anything else besides the fact that she's gorgeous. This is most likely because Shakespeare wrote this sonnet when he was young, so his perspective on love must have been skewed.

The woman, however, in Sonnet 130, is described as the opposite of said goddess. The speaker's tone is mocking of this woman's physical attributes. It's stated that, "if hairs he wires, black wires grow on her head" and "my mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground." She is not an exquisite beauty, nor is she even slightly attractive. There are no roses in her cheeks and, when she breathes, an odorous breath reeks from her mouth. This woman is practically described as hideous, yet the speaker states how much he loves her and her individuality. He loves that she's just an average woman and has learned to truly love her for who she is. This wisdom must have come from age, as Shakespeare wrote this sonnet when he was an older man.

The attitudes in both of Shakespeare's sonnets concerning love contain two different view points. The perspective in Sonnet 18 seems almost shallow because he only admires the woman's beauty and ultimate perfection. Sonnet 130 shines a different light on love, as he cherishes a woman who isn't gorgeous or even slightly pretty. She's just a standard woman with standard looks and yet he's in love with her. This sonnet contains deeper meaning than Sonnet 18, which he wrote when he was much younger. By the time he was older and got around to sonnet number 130, his perspectives on life and love certainly changed. This must be why Shakespeare's two sonnets concerning love contain such differing attitudes on the subject.