oetry Analysi
P s
En e
g li a g
sh H n g u
ome La
Grade 12
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content
without permission.
, Contents
Sonnet 130 William Shakespeare
The child who was shot dead by soldiers in Nyanga Ingrid Jonker
At a Funeral Dennis Brutus
Poem of Return Jofre Rocha
Talk to the Peach Tree Sipho Sepamla
Prayer to Masks Léopold Sédar Senghor
This Winter Coming Karen Press
Solitude Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The Morning Sun is Shining Olive Schreiner
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free William Wordsworth
Fern Hill Dylan Thomas
The Shipwreck Emily Dickinson
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content
without permission.
,Sonnet 130 Background
→ Sonnet 130 is part of a collection
of 154 sonnets written by William
Shakespeare
→ The poem mocks/parodies
exaggerated Petrarchan love
poems
→ Petrarchan poets often
described their lovers in unrealistic
and over-the-top ways
The poem focuses on themes such
as:
→ Female beauty
→ Love
→ Admiration
→ Shakespeare does not idealise
Summary his beloved
→ William Shakespeare uses eight ‘anti-compliments’ (negative → He describes her realistically and
comparisons) to describe his beloved’s beauty and uniqueness honestly instead of using
→ In the rhyming couplet, he explains that because she is normal
exaggerated compliments
and real, there is no need to exaggerate her beauty or his love for
her
→ He loves her exactly as she is – perfect in her imperfection → This makes the love in the poem
→ She is perfect to HIM, without needing to be idealised or seem more genuine and ‘real’
superficially beautiful
→ Shakespeare mocks the clichés used in traditional love poetry → The poem is a
→ Traditional love poems often used exaggerated and unrealistic Shakespearean/Elizabethan sonnet
comparisons to describe women
→ These exaggerated comparisons are shown as insincere and not
Structure of the sonnet:
an example of true love
→ 3 quatrains (4 lines each)
→ In the first 12 lines, the speaker may seem critical or rude toward
his beloved → 1 rhyming couplet (2 lines)
→ However, the reader later realises that his love is sincere and
genuine → The rhyming couplet gives the
→ He does not need unrealistic comparisons to express his true final argument and emphasises the
feelings speaker’s main point
→ By being brutally honest, Shakespeare ironically makes her seem
even more beautiful
→ Hyperbole is used throughout
→ Her beauty is elevated because he focuses on genuine love rather
the poem
than only outward appearance
→ The exaggerated comparisons
Structure/form highlight the absurdity of
unrealistic Petrarchan ideals
→ The poem is a Shakespearean/Elizabethan sonnet
→ It consists of:
→ 3 quatrains (4 lines each)
→ 1 rhyming couplet (2 lines)
→ The rhyme scheme follows the traditional Shakespearean sonnet
pattern:
→ abab cdcd efef gg
→ The rhyming couplet acts as the final argument and emphasises
the speaker’s main point
→ The poem follows a consistent rhythm throughout
→ It is written in traditional iambic pentameter
→ Each line contains 10 syllables
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content without permission.
, Line-by-line Analysis
Line
Line Explanation
Number
Mistress – this was a more general reference meaning
"my love" or "my darling", and not as would use the
term today. When we use the word "mistress," it's
usually to refer to a woman who is dating a married
man.
→ Eyes are traditionally seen as a sign of female
beauty
→ In this simile, the mistress’s eyes are compared to
the sun
→ During this time, poets commonly compared a
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the
lover’s eyes to the sun
1 sun;
→ These comparisons were often exaggerated to
idealise the beloved’s beauty
→ The sun creates an image of brightness, beauty
and shine
→ William Shakespeare rejects this exaggerated
comparison by using the phrase “nothing like”
→ This emphasises that the woman’s eyes are not
unusually bright or dazzling
→ The simile suggests that her eyes are plain,
ordinary and realistic
→ Shakespeare mocks unrealistic comparisons used
in traditional love poetry
Coral – a hard stony substance, typically forming large
reefs in warm seas. Known for its bright red or pink
colour. This was
the perfect colour for the perfect female.
Metaphor –makes a comparison between the
mistress’s lips and coral. By stating coral is "more red,"
the poet compares her natural features unfavourably
2 Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
to a common poetic ideal. Her lips are not as red as
coral; there is nothing special about the colour of her
lips. She has ordinary lips.
The speaker is questioning the obsession with
physical beauty and criticizing poets who focus only
on their lover's appearance rather than their inner
qualities.
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content
without permission.
P s
En e
g li a g
sh H n g u
ome La
Grade 12
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content
without permission.
, Contents
Sonnet 130 William Shakespeare
The child who was shot dead by soldiers in Nyanga Ingrid Jonker
At a Funeral Dennis Brutus
Poem of Return Jofre Rocha
Talk to the Peach Tree Sipho Sepamla
Prayer to Masks Léopold Sédar Senghor
This Winter Coming Karen Press
Solitude Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The Morning Sun is Shining Olive Schreiner
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free William Wordsworth
Fern Hill Dylan Thomas
The Shipwreck Emily Dickinson
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content
without permission.
,Sonnet 130 Background
→ Sonnet 130 is part of a collection
of 154 sonnets written by William
Shakespeare
→ The poem mocks/parodies
exaggerated Petrarchan love
poems
→ Petrarchan poets often
described their lovers in unrealistic
and over-the-top ways
The poem focuses on themes such
as:
→ Female beauty
→ Love
→ Admiration
→ Shakespeare does not idealise
Summary his beloved
→ William Shakespeare uses eight ‘anti-compliments’ (negative → He describes her realistically and
comparisons) to describe his beloved’s beauty and uniqueness honestly instead of using
→ In the rhyming couplet, he explains that because she is normal
exaggerated compliments
and real, there is no need to exaggerate her beauty or his love for
her
→ He loves her exactly as she is – perfect in her imperfection → This makes the love in the poem
→ She is perfect to HIM, without needing to be idealised or seem more genuine and ‘real’
superficially beautiful
→ Shakespeare mocks the clichés used in traditional love poetry → The poem is a
→ Traditional love poems often used exaggerated and unrealistic Shakespearean/Elizabethan sonnet
comparisons to describe women
→ These exaggerated comparisons are shown as insincere and not
Structure of the sonnet:
an example of true love
→ 3 quatrains (4 lines each)
→ In the first 12 lines, the speaker may seem critical or rude toward
his beloved → 1 rhyming couplet (2 lines)
→ However, the reader later realises that his love is sincere and
genuine → The rhyming couplet gives the
→ He does not need unrealistic comparisons to express his true final argument and emphasises the
feelings speaker’s main point
→ By being brutally honest, Shakespeare ironically makes her seem
even more beautiful
→ Hyperbole is used throughout
→ Her beauty is elevated because he focuses on genuine love rather
the poem
than only outward appearance
→ The exaggerated comparisons
Structure/form highlight the absurdity of
unrealistic Petrarchan ideals
→ The poem is a Shakespearean/Elizabethan sonnet
→ It consists of:
→ 3 quatrains (4 lines each)
→ 1 rhyming couplet (2 lines)
→ The rhyme scheme follows the traditional Shakespearean sonnet
pattern:
→ abab cdcd efef gg
→ The rhyming couplet acts as the final argument and emphasises
the speaker’s main point
→ The poem follows a consistent rhythm throughout
→ It is written in traditional iambic pentameter
→ Each line contains 10 syllables
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content without permission.
, Line-by-line Analysis
Line
Line Explanation
Number
Mistress – this was a more general reference meaning
"my love" or "my darling", and not as would use the
term today. When we use the word "mistress," it's
usually to refer to a woman who is dating a married
man.
→ Eyes are traditionally seen as a sign of female
beauty
→ In this simile, the mistress’s eyes are compared to
the sun
→ During this time, poets commonly compared a
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the
lover’s eyes to the sun
1 sun;
→ These comparisons were often exaggerated to
idealise the beloved’s beauty
→ The sun creates an image of brightness, beauty
and shine
→ William Shakespeare rejects this exaggerated
comparison by using the phrase “nothing like”
→ This emphasises that the woman’s eyes are not
unusually bright or dazzling
→ The simile suggests that her eyes are plain,
ordinary and realistic
→ Shakespeare mocks unrealistic comparisons used
in traditional love poetry
Coral – a hard stony substance, typically forming large
reefs in warm seas. Known for its bright red or pink
colour. This was
the perfect colour for the perfect female.
Metaphor –makes a comparison between the
mistress’s lips and coral. By stating coral is "more red,"
the poet compares her natural features unfavourably
2 Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
to a common poetic ideal. Her lips are not as red as
coral; there is nothing special about the colour of her
lips. She has ordinary lips.
The speaker is questioning the obsession with
physical beauty and criticizing poets who focus only
on their lover's appearance rather than their inner
qualities.
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy, share, or sell our content
without permission.
