Sonnet 130

“Sonnet 129” by William Shakespeare (1609)

The sonnet that comes before “Sonnet 130” deals with lust and sexual desire and adds another layer to the depiction of the mistress in “Sonnet 130.” In “Sonnet 129,” the speaker presents sexual desire similar to how he presents the mistress: It’s not ostensibly flattering. The speaker calls sexual feelings “perjured, murd’rous, bloody, full of blame, / Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust” (Lines 3-4). Put in conversation with “Sonnet 130,” “Sonnet 129” suggests that the speaker describes his mistress in such a coarse manner because sexual feelings, to him, aren’t beautiful but uncouth. Thus, the speaker projects his nefarious perception of sex onto the mistress in “Sonnet 130.” He detaches her from purity and innocence and makes her unpleasant and disquieting.

“Sonnet 138” by William Shakespeare (1609)

In “Sonnet 130,” the speaker claims to be on the side of truth. He doesn’t want to subject his mistress to “false compare” (Line 14) and distort her genuine beauty. However, in “Sonnet 138,” the idea of truth grows messy. The speaker states, “When my love swears that she is made of truth, / I do believe her, though I know she lies” (Lines 1-2). Here, the speaker joins truth to lies, which indicates that the truth isn’t so straightforward or simple, so perhaps the speaker isn’t telling the whole truth about his mistress’s looks in “Sonnet 130.”

“Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath (1965)

Sylvia Plath is a famous 20th-century American poet known for her forceful Confessional poetry—or poems that appear tied to her real-life experiences. Classic authors like William Shakespeare inspired Plath, and many of the themes in “Sonnet 130” occur in one of her well-known poems, “Lady Lazarus.” Plath, too, deals with beauty norms and the objectification of women. The mistress’s breath doesn’t smell like perfumes, and the female speaker in “Lady Lazarus” has “sour breath” (Line 14). While Shakespeare’s speaker doesn’t objectify the mistress, Plath’s speaker receives objectification as the “peanut-crunching crowd / Shoves in to see” (Lines 26-27) her. At the same time, Plath’s poem reveals how objectification or otherworldliness empowers. The mistress isn’t a “goddess” (Line 11), but Plath’s speaker has no qualms about linking herself to a biblical figure, Lazarus. Like Lazarus, Plath’s speaker returns from the dead, and she’s a force since, as she proudly declares, “I eat men like air” (Line 84).