WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR

Born on April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon.

William was the third child of his parents, John and Mary Shakespeare. His fathers name: John Shakespeare who was a local businessman.

His mothers name: mother Mary Arden she was a landowner.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 29, 1582. William was 18 and Anne was 26 and pregnant.

six months after the marriage 1583 Shakespeare's first child was born
Susanna and after 2 years he had twins a boy and a gir Hamnet & Judith.

was an actor, playwright and theatre entrepreneur in London died 23 April 1616 at the age of 52.

THR RENAISSANCE 1500-1660

1558-1603 Elizabethan Age 1603-1625 Jacobean Age 1625-1649 Caroline Age 1649-1660 Commonwealth Period The word Renaissance is a french word that means rebirth.

a name given to the movement in Europe. the "Renaissance" is usually considered to have begun in Italy in the fourteenth century. The Renaissance period began with the end of the Hundred Years' War and the fall of the Byzantine Empire
They were interested in the arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature. It is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of artistic geniuses as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

THE STRUCTURE:
1. They are 14 lines long. 2. They are written in iambic pentameter. 3. the rhyme scheme would be ABABCDCDEFEFGG

William Shakespeares Sonnet 130, was written as a MOCKERY of the traditional love poem.the praise of his mistress is so negative that the reader is left with the impression that she is almost unlovable. Shakespeare uses honesty, not flattery, to speak of the woman he loves.
First Quatrain black wires grow on her head Instead of exaggerating the beauty of his ladys eyes by claiming that they outshine the sun he says that those eyes are nothing like the sun. He fails to describe the eyes at all, but as he continues through other body parts, he becomes more expressive. Her lips are not as red as coral, though they are red, just not as red as coral. Her breasts are not as white as snow; they are actually a shade of brown, as all humans beings are various shades of brown. And her hair instead of silky strands look more like black wires sticking out of her head. Second Quatrain no such roses see I in her cheeks The speaker lets us know that he has experience the beauty of a colorful rose, but he does not see those roses on the cheeks of his beloved. And he admits that some perfumes are actually more pleasing to his nose than the breath that exhales from his beloved. Third Quatrain I grant I never saw a goddess go, In the third quatrain, he says, I love to hear her speak . . . now he has said something positive about her and it happens to be her voice that he loves. However, he does admit that even though he loves her voice, he knows it is not as pleasing as music. And although he has never seen a goddess walk, he knows that his beloved just treads on the ground. But, as far as the speaker knows, maybe a goddess would just tread on the ground also. The Couplet I think my love as rare In the couplet, Shakespeare slowly makes it known that his mistress is a mortal

woman, and there is nothing divine about her. Some might find this imagery shocking, or insulting, but this leads to the butt of his joke on society He thinks his love as rare, because he does not need to lie about his mistress looks in order to validate his love for her. He knows love goes deeper then outward appearance.
the speaker swears that he loves his mistress just as much as those poets who exaggerate their beloveds features. He loves her simply because she is rare, or a unique individual.

THEMES:

reality, and what love really. "Women and Femininity" is connected to the idea of appearances.
"Appearances" is a major theme, since our speaker spends a lot of the poem talking about what's wrong with his mistress's looks. He does a pretty complete dissection of her face, her body, and her smell. He doesn't say anything at all about her personality, but instead sticks to his laundry list of problems with her appearance. This gives Shakespeare a chance to poke fun at our obsession with looks and to show how ridiculous it is to ask any person to live up to some ideal of perfect beauty.