Question

Read Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130.” What is the central idea of the second quatrain?

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.

What is the central idea of the second quatrain?

A) The speaker gives his mistress roses and perfume.

B) The speaker’s mistress is like a rose—beautiful and fragrant.

C) His mistress’s cheeks are not pink, and her breath is not sweet.

D) Roses do not look and smell as sweet as the speaker’s mistress

Answer 1

C) His mistress’s cheeks are not pink, and her breath is not sweet.

Step-by-step explanation:

William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" is not a typical sonnet that praises a woman or a lover. On the contrary, even though it revolves around the beauty of his beloved, the speaker lists the many ways his beloved is far from the beautiful and sweet woman everyone wants their beloved to be.

The second quatrain of the sonnet presents the negative qualities of the beloved. The speaker reveals how his mistress' features are nothing good. He rather lists the bad qualities, comparing her hairs to a "black wire", dull cheeks, and even her breath reeks. And by saying all these, the speaker presents the bad qualities of his beloved.

Thus, the correct answer is option C.