Question

Which statement best summarizes William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130?

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.

Answer 1

The beauty of his mistress and his love for her, even though it can´t be compared to nature´s beauty, is still of a very rare kind, unique in its own way. It is futile to try and compare her beauty with foreign elements that have no true relationship to her; rather, her beauty stands alone and in that regard, it is of no relevance to try and compare her to anything else. It is her, as she is, and not what one could infer from any comparison, who´s beautiful.

Answer 2

Sonnet 130 compares and contrasts the speaker’s mistress with beautiful elements in nature and finds her more beautiful.