Sonnet 130

  Unconditional love refers to a certain affection that is without limitations. It is a term that can be used between two lovers to represent that their love is true. Or, it can be used by a parent/guardian to explain to their child that no matter what obtuse actions they commit throughout their life time, they will always unconditionally love them. William Shakespeare put a sort of playful twist on unconditional love in this sonnet 130. A sonnet is a form of poetry that surrounds a single idea. It has 14 lines, and is usually in iambic pentameter. Sonnets follow a definite rhyme scheme (a-b-a-b-a-b) and end with a rhyming couplet. Instead of creating a stereotypical sonnet about how beautiful his mistress is and how much he loves her. Shakespeare spends the duration of the poem bringing all of his mistress' flaws to light. He refers to her annoying voice when he says "I love to hear her speak, yet well i know/ That music hath a far more pleasing sound" He also says "And in some perfumes is there more delight/ than in the breath that from my mistress reeks". In this line he is talking about the stench of her breath. Throughout the entire poem he continues to insult this woman. He insults her so much that the reader becomes convinced that there is no possible way that he loves her. However, at the very end, the couplet reads "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ As any she belied with false compare". He tells his audience that even though there a countless things he doesn't like about her, that doesn't mean she is unlovable. Nobody is perfect. And this is the message that he is trying to convey with this poem. He concludes with the idea that any woman could be misrepresented by outrageous comparisons. Society makes it very crucial for women to appear flawless. They have to fulfill a certain criteria for them to be considered appealing. This was a problem back in Shakespearean time and definitely one for years to come.