Sonnet 130

  This sonnet is sarcastic in its nature.  It is very possibly a parody of an Italian sonnet.  Italian sonnets are supposed to be very romantic.  They often compare the subject to other objects that are supposed to be beautiful.  This is very apparent in the first line of the sonnet when the speaker says that his lover's eyes are nothing like the sun.  The speaker goes on like this throughout the sonnet denying that the subject has any beauty.  In line four, the speaker describes the subject's hair as being "black wires."  In Shakespeare's time, light colored hair was favored over darker hair.  The speaker also claims that he would rather hear the music of the subject than hear her talk.  However, the tone changes dramatically from line eleven to then end.  The rest of the sonnet tells that the speaker's love is rare and that she should not be confined to the ridiculous standards of beauty that society places on her.