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,5
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:10
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.

What is the best paraphrase of line 12?

like everyone,she walks on the ground

Explanation:

This is one of the most famous Shakespeare's sonnets, "Sonnet 130".

Interesting thing about it is that in a way mocks romantic poems of the period. The common style of such poems is that they center around comparison of women with natural beauties, flowers, goddesses etc. The authors' love interests were highly idealized and shown as perfect, out of this world beings.

Here, Shakespeare fights against this in a very funny manner. He constantly, throughout the poem, gives a realistic description of his lover, rendering her unable to compete with natural beauties, smell of perfume, sound of music etc.

However, that doesn't mean he doesn't love her; he loves her the way she is - as real and as imperfect as one can be.

In lines 11 and 12 the author basically states that he has never seen a goddess walk, but he is sure that his mistress walks in a quite ordinary manner, just like every other woman does.

This line is just a logical sequel to the idea expressed in the previous lines.

judy jones is an attractive woman who receives attention from many men throughout the story.   despite her beautiful appearance, she is superficial and callous.   she is an aggressive woman who goes after any man she desires but she is not happy.   she is fickle and is never satisfied.   her beauty is only skin deep.   dexter breaks down because he knows his dreams are unattainable.   he believes that wealth and physical beauty are what will make him happy.   he soon realizes that she has lost her attractive looks.   it is not all what he had planned.

the first proposition is to question economic materialism and victorian christianity. the lines are:

“it moves us not.—great god! i'd rather be

a pagan suckled in a creed outworn; ”

wordsworth is stating that nature no longer interests mankind, that the latter is not “moved” by it and explains that ancient western paganism had a more positive attitude concerning nature since it lacked the perv erted judaeo-christian interpretation of having received the world and all its animals and elements from god to use as we , instead of humans actually being not only part of nature but its wardens, meant to appreciate it and protect it.

the next lines are:

“so might i, standing on this pleasant lea,

have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

have sight of proteus coming from the sea;

or hear old triton blow his wreathed horn.”

wordsworth here make it very clear that by actually looking and contemplating nature, human beings would reconnect with happiness, serenity and purpose. the use of mythological figures is quite evocative as well, proteus is a greek mythological god of the changing sea. he personifies the sea that changes, which symbolizes the way nature changes and inevitably can change to be destructive not only due to natural causes but to human pollution. furthermore, the sea is even more symbolic since all life originated in the sea so it is not only our past but our future since no life form in our planet can survive without water and if all water is destroyed in earth all life will be gone as well.

he then uses triton which is symbolic of the synthesis of both nature and mankind. triton is a mythological greek god that has the upper body of a man and the lower body of a fish (a merman). this human fish duality evokes the fact that humans are not only human but also part of nature, the fish tail representing nature. the main attribute of this god was that he used a conch shell as a horn to calm the roaring seas. in other words, triton uses nature through science for the benefit of human sailors who risk death during tempests. with the use of such metaphor, wordworth is conveying the message that human technology   is supposed to use nature to preserve nature and thereby humanity as well.