Comparison of Subjects in Sonnets 18 and 130

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Compare the presentation of the poems’ subjects in sonnets 18 and 130. One way Shakespeare presents the subject on the sonnet is the use of nature. Sonnet 18 is all about how the subject is ‘more lovely’ than even the most beautiful of things – ‘a summer’s day’. The subject is compared to nature in a different way, but still in a good light. ‘By chance or by nature’s changing course untrimm’d; / But thy eternal summer shall not fade’, this basically means that summer will come to an end but their beauty will not. It also could mean that the subject is not affected by natural patterns, i.e. she is in a good mood (summer) all the time and does not become down (winter). The word eternal indicates that the writer will think exactly the same as he does now. Sonnet 130 is very different in comparison, it still uses nature but is the complete opposite, he uses examples of nice things about nature – ‘roses’ – only to bring the subject down by saying she is nothing like what he has described, ‘I have seen roses damask’d, red and white, / But no such roses see I in her cheeks’. Also, a rose can be either a good thing or a bad thing. Their head looks beautiful and inviting but its stalk is thorny and you want to stay away from it. I believe this has something to do with the subject’s personality, where they seem very inviting but when you spend any large amount of time with them you see their true colours; something you do not want to be close to. Another comparison of the two poems is the difference in the relationship between the writer and the subject. In sonnet 18, the relationship is one of admiration and wonder. It is said that the subject is ‘more lovely and more temperate’ than a summer’s day. This indicates that there is no point in comparing them because the subject is so much better. Also, the repetition of ‘more’ creates more emphasis on the fact she is better
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