Poet’s Corner: the “Anti-Petrarchan” Sonnet

17 January 2026

(21 February 2014) Today we give you one of our favorite Shakespearean sonnets, #130, an example of what we call an “anti-Petrarchan” sonnet: recall that the Petrarchan conceit, whether sonnet or some other form, celebrates the attributes and character of the beloved (emphasis on the attributes), praising the beloved for all her charms–as, for example, “her eyes are like pools of sapphire radiance, lighting my night.” In this particular sonnet by Shakespeare, the poet takes this convention and turns it on its head:

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why her breasts are dun [dirty brown];
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

I have seen roses damasked [variegated], 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 [walk, although in this case, float],
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare [extraordinary]
As any she belied [misrepresented] with false compare.

Notice how each of the typical Petrarchan comparisons–eyes, lips, breasts, hair, cheeks, smell, voice, and walk–are reversed, which is closer to reality, and that is the ‘problem’ in this sonnet: the mistress is all too ‘real’, and, to borrow a common phrase, ‘reality sucks!’ Thus, when all is described, the poet prefers his real mistress to those constructs of Petrarchan lovers, seeing only the good. Here, the poet admits that his mistress is imperfect, but he prefers her to all those ladies (mis)represented by the typical love poem, which is why the wise man does not choose only for appearance! Good looks fade with time, (as we showed in a previous week’s sonnet from Shakespeare, #18), and one remains in love based on other things, but holds in memory the beauties that first caught our eyes.

Return again on Tuesday for another edition of the poet’s corner, and Monday for another installment of the first book of our epic fantasy, Chosen of the One, which is currently free for download from Smashwords. If the reader has more interest in our poetry, check out our collections here, especially Words Fail, for those who have been or still are, in love.