Shakespeare’s Sonnet 141 in '10 Things I Hate About You'

For this entry, I have another highlight on the popular culture of Sonnet by William Shakespeare. This time the one of his poems was presented in one of my favourite movie entitled "10 Things I Hate About You'. I'd watched this and so in love with the story. But I'm not going to talk about the film. It is the poem presented here that I want to share about. 

 "Ten Things I Hate About You"

Dir. Gil Junger. Perf. Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. 1999. 

DVD. Walt Disney Video, 1999.

The aspect of the film that I liked the most this time around was the way it cast practically everyone in it as a caricature, emphasising how Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew plays with stereotypes. Padua, like Padua High, is riddled with misconceptions that are (for the most part) debunked during the play.

I noticed the use of sonnets this time around, probably because I've been blogging about sonnets on Bardfilm recently. Before giving his students an assignment, the teacher reads the first four lines of Sonnet 141 ("In faith, I do not adore thee with mine eyes") in the video below. Kat (Julia Stiles) is known for giving the teacher a hard time, which is why he reacts the way he does. After Heath Ledger's deception (which he now regrets) is revealed, the clip transitions to the completion of the task. The film's title appears to be derived from the poem (which appears to list thirteen things the narrator despises about the addressee):

Here are the two versions of the poem:

Sonnet 141 (Derivative Version)

I hate the way you talk to me,

And the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive my car.

I hate it when you stare.

I hate your big dumb combat boots,

And the way you read my mind.

I hate you so much it makes me sick.

(It even makes me rhyme.)

I hate the way you’re always right.

I hate it when you lie.

I hate it when you make me laugh—

Even worse when you make me cry.

I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call.

But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you—not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

Sonnet 141

In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes,

For they in thee a thousand errors note;

But 'tis my heart that loves what they despise,

Who in despite of view is pleased to dote;

Nor are mine ears with thy tongue's tune delighted,

Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone,

Nor taste, nor smell, desire to be invited

To any sensual feast with thee alone:

But my five wits nor my five senses can

Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee,

Who leaves unsway'd the likeness of a man,

Thy proud heart's slave and vassal wretch to be:

Only my plague thus far I count my gain,

That she that makes me sin awards me pain.

The 141st of William Shakespeare's 154 sonnets is referred to as Sonnet 141. The poet's physical senses and brains (intellect) on the one hand, and his heart on the other, are the sonnet's central focus. The mental faculties of common sense, imagination, fantasy, instinct, and memory are referred to as the "five wits." The sonnet is one of those in which the poet's heart is enamored with something despite what his eyes see.

Shakespeare explores his aspirations for the woman in Sonnet 141, which are at odds with what his senses tell him. Despite the fact that he is aware of her physical defects and dislikes her voice, smell, or touch, his heart is entirely charmed by her. In the poem, his attention on sense is excessive, but his senses can't keep him from loving her. He feels that he is a slave to the misery he experiences as a result of loving her.

I love the way people put the poem into culture make it popular in present. 😉😉