Today’s poem is Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.

It’s fall, and that means “back-to-school”. We put together this week’s episodes for the educators in our audience — especially those of you who may be looking for a little Slowdown treatment on those classroom classics, from Shakespeare to Frost. We hope you all enjoy these selections, as learners of any age.

In this episode, Major writes… “Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 is brilliant for how the speaker disproves the idea that his girlfriend could be compared to anything in nature. He takes aim at hyperbolic similes; he offers examples that deflate the notion of flawless physical perfection. Any poem either collapses or succeeds based on the originality of its vision. The substance of Shakespeare’s vision is that our imperfections are what make us truly beautiful and rare.”

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