Question

Read Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130.”

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, 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,—
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.

Which words and phrases in the sonnet indicate that the tone is satirical? Select two options.

“My mistress”
“black wires grow on her head”
“I have seen roses damask’d”
“the breath that from my mistress reeks”
“As any she belied with false compare”

Answer 1

“black wires grow on her head”
“the breath that from my mistress reeks”

Both lines use blunt, ironic negative imagery that undercuts the usual flattering Petrarchan comparisons, creating a satirical, mock‑praising tone.