Beauty Rewritten

Today, I read Petrarch’s Canzoniere 90 and then went directly to read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130. I’ve read both of them individually before, but today was the first time I’ve read them in relation to each other, and that was pretty interesting. Before I get into that, let’s quickly look at them individually.

Petrarch’s sonnet talks about how conventionally beautiful his lover is. He compliments her and then says how amazing the woman is. He talks about her physical features and about how her beauty is almost divine. He idealizes her beauty and describes her as an angel.

On the other hand, Shakespeare is kind of the opposite. He almost trashes his Dark Lady in his sonnet. He talks about how her features are unconventional, and they aren’t what people would say are traditionally beautiful. At first glance, it looks like total slander and kind of disrespectful. However, at second glance, the end of the poem says that he loves the dark lady despite her flaws and different beauty.

So, here’s the thing. Shakespeare might have written Sonnet 130 in response to Petrarch’s sonnet. Petrarch mentions the woman’s hair, eyes, her voice, and the way she walks. He says all these things are almost divine. Shakespeare, however, says that he has seen things far more beautiful than the Dark Lady’s features. The way his poem is written is like he’s contradicting Petrarch’s idea that only conventional beauty is celebrated. He celebrates different ways that a woman can be beautiful, which is something that this generation needs more than others.

So, if I had to choose one thing to conclude with, it’s that writers draw from each other all the time, and that writers are always relevant, in one way or the other. There’s always something you can learn from a writer, regardless of the time. It’s kind of magical if you think about it.