Love can be a fleeting feeling, but it can still prove to be the center idea of many works. For example, sonnets are usually filled with excessive metaphors and an idealistic viewpoint of a specific individual that the writer has fallen in love with. However, both "Sonnet 130" by William Shakespeare and "Sonnet 23" by Louise Labé utilize the format to bring a different perspective. Shakespeare's sonnet is more humorous, while Labé's takes on a more serious approach to showcase the injustice the speaker faces.
In "Sonnet 130," the speaker's subject is his own mistress, while in Labé's the speaker seems to address her ex-lover, who is a mistress herself. In Shakespeare's, the speaker derives from the usual fantastical description of one's mistress. He does so by providing an embellished image, then juxtaposing it to a realistic description of his mistress, even somewhat mocking her: "And in some perfumes is there more delight/Then the breath that from my mistress reeks" (7-8). The speaker makes fun of other poets' elaborate descriptions of one's mistress, …show more content…
"Sonnet 23" resonates more with me because the speaker realizes what has been done to her. The speaker takes notice of the idle flattery that other people employ to use one's intentions for his or her own benefit. Her poem would classify as a traditional sonnet, but she goes against the norm by using the format to discredit the honeyed words said by her ex-lover. I admire how she was able to demonstrate her emotions through writing in a time that no one would pay attention to them. However, in "Sonnet 130," the difference between his and other flamboyant poems is clear. His message is interpreted faster because of the contradictions the speaker uses to describe his mistress. The succession of a pleasant image next to how his mistress actually is creates an effect of an argument that a reader can follow
In "Sonnet 130," the speaker's subject is his own mistress, while in Labé's the speaker seems to address her ex-lover, who is a mistress herself. In Shakespeare's, the speaker derives from the usual fantastical description of one's mistress. He does so by providing an embellished image, then juxtaposing it to a realistic description of his mistress, even somewhat mocking her: "And in some perfumes is there more delight/Then the breath that from my mistress reeks" (7-8). The speaker makes fun of other poets' elaborate descriptions of one's mistress, …show more content…
"Sonnet 23" resonates more with me because the speaker realizes what has been done to her. The speaker takes notice of the idle flattery that other people employ to use one's intentions for his or her own benefit. Her poem would classify as a traditional sonnet, but she goes against the norm by using the format to discredit the honeyed words said by her ex-lover. I admire how she was able to demonstrate her emotions through writing in a time that no one would pay attention to them. However, in "Sonnet 130," the difference between his and other flamboyant poems is clear. His message is interpreted faster because of the contradictions the speaker uses to describe his mistress. The succession of a pleasant image next to how his mistress actually is creates an effect of an argument that a reader can follow