Sonnet 130 Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. Do you think the last two lines make up for the rest of the things the speaker says about his mistress? Would you think it was charming if someone wrote this poem about you?
  2. Does Shakespeare make a fair point? Do some love poems take these comparisons too far? Or this exactly the place for fancy phrases?
  3. Have you ever tried to write someone a love poem? Did you actually send it? How did it go over?
  4. Shakespeare wrote this poem about 400 years ago. Does it feel like an old poem? In what ways? If you changed the language a little, could this poem have been written today? Why or why not?
  5. Do you feel like the speaker is describing a specific person? If so, what makes it seem that way? If not, why not?