Wedding reading
Sonnet 130
William Shakespeare
“Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare is a poem read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 50 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
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 damasked, 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.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Thirteen lines of insults, then a last couplet that beats every compliment in the book. It teases the sonnets sitting next to it.
Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun · the anti-love poem · teasing rather than flattering · a couple who make fun of each other · undercuts the flowery readings · funny for thirteen lines and then sincere · short.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Sonnet 130” take to read aloud?
“Sonnet 130” takes about 50 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “Sonnet 130”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “Sonnet 130” runs about 50 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “Sonnet 130” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
en.wikisource.org · en.wikisource.org
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.