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Difficulty: EasyClosed Poetic Forms and Structural Conventions

Read the following poem carefully before choosing your answer.

Sonnet 130

[1] My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
[2] Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
[3] If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
[4] If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
[5] I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
[6] But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
[7] And in some perfumes is there more delight
[8] Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
[9] I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
[10] That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
[11] I grant I never saw a goddess go;
[12] My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
[13] And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
[14] As any she belied with false compare.

Which of the following best describes the function of the final rhyming couplet (lines 13–14) in relation to the rest of the poem?

  1. A
    It serves as a direct biographical confession from William Shakespeare detailing his personal romantic relationship in London.
  2. B
    It maintains the exact same critical and mocking tone toward the mistress without any shift in perspective or attitude.
  3. C
    It introduces a series of complex metaphors and similes merely to label the mistress's features without contributing to the overall message of the poem.
  4. It provides a concluding resolution that affirms the speaker's genuine love despite the mistress's realistic, non-idealized flaws described in the preceding lines.Answer
  5. E
    It provides a chronological list of actions the mistress performs throughout her daily routine.

Answer

It provides a concluding resolution that affirms the speaker's genuine love despite the mistress's realistic, non-idealized flaws described in the preceding lines.
The correct answer is correct because the final couplet in a Shakespearean sonnet typically serves to resolve, summarize, or shift the focus of the preceding three quatrains. In this poem, the first twelve lines humorously point out how the mistress does not match clichéd romantic comparisons, while the couplet ('And yet... I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare') shifts the tone and resolves the poem by affirming that the speaker's love is real and deep precisely because it is based on reality rather than false praise.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the structural form of the poem.
The poem is a Shakespearean (English) sonnet, characterized by three quatrains followed by a final rhyming couplet.
Recognizing the closed poetic form helps locate structural conventions like the couplet.
2
Analyze the content and tone of the first twelve lines.
The speaker lists several ways the mistress does not match traditional, idealized romantic clichés.
Understanding the setup allows us to see how the ending responds to or shifts from it.
3
Determine the role of the final couplet (lines 13–14).
The couplet introduces a shift ('And yet') and resolves the poem by stating that the speaker's love is just as rare and valuable as any woman misrepresented by exaggerated comparisons.
This confirms that the couplet functions to resolve the preceding tension by affirming love despite the flaws.

Key Concept

Understanding the structural division and thematic resolution of the final couplet in a Shakespearean sonnet.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Closed Poetic Forms and Structural Conventions

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