The sonnet 130 of Shakespeare or the arms bared

Shakespeare's sonnet 130 is sometimes read as an anti-blazon, and therefore as a misogynist text. Drawing on a large number of Renaissance poems, I show that this is a misreading of the sonnet which, far from presenting the Dark Lady in satirical fashion, pays her an unconventional tribute. Shakespeare seemingly discards worn out metaphors, the better To throw light on their arbitrary nature. Rather than disparaging his Lady, he offers a witty parody of the traditional Petrarchan representation of women : rather than an anti-blazon, sonnet 130 is best defined as a metablason.