The Worst of Shakespeare by Doug Novak
SONNET 145
Those lips that Love's own hand did make
Breathed forth the sound that said 'I hate'
To me that languish'd for her sake;
But when she saw my woeful state,
Straight in her heart did mercy come,
Chiding that tongue that ever sweet
Was used in giving gentle doom,
And taught it thus anew to greet:
'I hate' she alter'd with an end,
That follow'd it as gentle day
Doth follow night, who like a fiend
From heaven to hell is flown away;
'I hate' from hate away she threw,
And saved my life, saying 'not you.'
Many critics have cited Shakespeare’s sonnet 145 as his worst poetic work. It is the only one of his sonnets written in eight, rather than ten, syllable lines. It is believed to be written by a very young Shakespeare to his bride-to-be, Anne Hathaway. The sonnet is addressed to a woman and compliments her in a run-of-the-mill, matter-of-fact sort of way. There is none of the subtlety and intrigue for which Shakespeare has become known. No intricate word play, and it is not divided into three quatrains and finishing couplet as are most of his works. In fact the first twelve lines read straight through almost as a paragraph:
“Those lips that Loves owne hand did make,
Breath’d forth the sound that said I hate,
To me that languish for her sake:
But when she saw my wofull state,
Straight in her heart did mercie come,
Chiding that tongue that ever sweet,
Was used in giving gentle dome:
And tought it thus a new to greete:
I hate she altered with an end,
That follow’d it as gentle day,
Doth follow night who like a fiend
From heaven to hell is flowne away.
This use of diction is much clumsier than his other works. The closeness of the rhymes, and repetitions along with the awkward attempts at word plays, “I hate from hate away she threw, And sav’d my life saying not for you,” make it a very amateurish sonnet. It is difficult to follow the flow and the meaning. This sonnet has been highly criticized by readers of varying levels.
Least Favorite Poem – Jackson Lee
SONNET 2
When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,
If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,'
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.
Least Fav. Poem – Jackson Lee (Sonnet 2)
Sonnet 2 is my least favorate poem of William Shakespeare because Shakespeare doesn’t use a lot of imagery and the message it portrays does not come clear. What I get from this poem is that one day we will all become very old, and when somebody teases you about your age all you have to say is that you have a child to succeed yourself.
MY MISTRESS’ EYES ARE NOTHING LIKE THE SUN
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
LESS FAVORITE - Younga Meniboon (Sonnet 130)
In this sonnet, (130) "My Mistresses Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun," appears to be a poem that is insulting. The narrator notes all of these beautiful things like sun, snow, roses, perfume, music, and etc. As he is noting them, he compares them to his mistress whom we are clearly told does not measure up to any of these things. Even though he appears to speaking badly of his mistress he ends the poem by telling us, in a sense, "It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t meet your expectations of what is beautiful, I see who she is inside and out, and she is beautiful to me." As relationships grow and mature, the initial superficial aspects such become deeper and more meaningful. Clearly the speaker has realized his love for the mistress is based on deeper and more meaningful things. She’s not attractive maybe by societal standards, but it can be compared to the idea in Pope’s "The Rape of the Lock" that when beauty fades there better be intelligence, good character, and etc
Sonnet 130 can also be viewed in terms of the poet's challenge to well established poetic ideals of female beauty. These older ideals are usually identified as "Petrarchan" and include, among other things, the sense that the woman is distant and perhaps even cold and heartless, even to the point of using beautiful but hard/cold terms to describe her features, such as snow, gold, coral, and rubies.
Here are some poetic devices. Lots of similes and metaphors: Simile - eyes are nothing like the sun (this is a negative simile; he says her eyes are not like the sun). Metaphor - comparing her lips to coral (another negative - he says her lips are not red like coral.