My mistress eyes. My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun » StudyExcell 2022-10-16

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"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" is a line from a sonnet written by William Shakespeare. The poem is a parody of traditional love poetry, in which the speaker describes his mistress in a series of comparisons to beautiful natural objects, such as the sun, the white snow, and the red roses. However, in each comparison, the speaker points out that his mistress does not live up to these idealized images.

At first glance, the poem seems like a harsh critique of the speaker's mistress, but upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the speaker is not really trying to put her down. Rather, he is using irony and humor to subvert the traditional conventions of love poetry and to express his love for her in a more authentic and honest way.

In the first quatrain, the speaker compares his mistress' eyes to the sun, but notes that they are not as bright or radiant. He also compares her skin to snow, but points out that it is not as white. In the second quatrain, he compares her lips to red roses, but notes that they are not as red. In each of these comparisons, the speaker is poking fun at the idea that physical beauty is the most important quality in a person, and suggesting that his mistress is more than just a pretty face.

In the third quatrain, the speaker continues to list his mistress' physical imperfections, such as her breath that "reeks" and her "black wires" for hair. But despite these flaws, the speaker insists that he still finds her beautiful. He compares her to a "fair truth" that is "too fair to be true," and concludes that she is "my mistress, but I love her" - a statement that reveals the depth of his affection for her.

The final couplet of the poem sums up the speaker's argument: "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare." In other words, the speaker believes that his love for his mistress is just as rare and valuable as any love that has been praised with exaggerated comparisons.

In conclusion, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" is a clever and witty poem that uses irony and humor to challenge the conventional notion that physical beauty is the most important quality in a person. Through his playful comparisons, the speaker ultimately reveals his deep love and appreciation for his mistress, flaws and all.

My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun Theme Essay

my mistress eyes

By using humor and satire, Shakespeare for all practical purposes attacked men who thought that women were objects of desire. Works Cited Forsyth, Mark. William also uses a few puns in the beginning of the poem with similar sounding words to add to his meaning. Most of the Elizabethan love poetry was written in the traditional Petrarchan form in which a sonnet was divided into two parts — an octave and a sestet. Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like… Poetry Foundation agenda angle-down angle-left angleRight arrow-down arrowRight bars calendar caret-down cart children highlight learningResources list mapMarker openBook p1 pin poetry-magazine print quoteLeft quoteRight slideshow tagAudio tagVideo teens trash-o. It has been recorded and performed by artists such as Christian Lindberg, William Randall Beard, Lara St. Evaluating a sonnet written by such a classical writer from a humorous perspective will shed light on the true meaning of his literary work.

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My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun » StudyExcell

my mistress eyes

But he declares that she is rarer and more wondrous than any woman who is flattered by the false comparisons. Though the poet describes the imperfections and flaws of his mistress, he is very clear that he loves her imperfections and flaws. He wrote many sonnets throughout his life, though this particular one was published posthumously. Near the end of the poem, William Shakespeare makes it clear that no matter how his mistress looks on the outside, he will always love her deeply. When the poet describes his mistress negatively in terms of physical features, smell, voice and touch, it sounds like he is insulting her. Different kinds of imageries including visual and olfactory imagery are used to highlight how a perfectly beautiful woman was perceived to be in the society of his time.

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Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun Poem Summary and Analysis

my mistress eyes

Shakespeare's poem also departs from his contemporaries in terms of formal structure — it is a new kind of sonnet—the "Shakespearean" sonnet. He starts with her eyes, saying that they are nothing like the sun. In fact, the poet likes her odd and negative attributes, and his love for her is rare and special. Setting Sonnet 130 does not have a specific setting as such. Shakespeare acknowledges that the seer can only define beauty. This could be because his mistress wears makeup to make her look more attractive or because she has smallpox scars. The reason William uses the sun as comparison with his mistress is because William feels as if she should naturally bring his thoughts towards such a positive entity such as the sun.

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"My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun"

my mistress eyes

The poet loves to be honest and show the realness of things. Lines 7—8 And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. Hunter, and Kelly J. He swears by heaven that with all the ordinary features of his mistress, he still finds his beloved my love to be as lovely rare as any other woman any she who are misrepresented belied by inflated comparisons false compare. He thus hits back to the then poetic conventions in a satiric way in Sonnet 130 by representing his mistress as she is. She is just like an ordinary human being.

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Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like…

my mistress eyes

Some Argue that Shakespeare might have been misogynistic and insulting to women by body shaming is mistress. So, the lady has frizzy black hair which is uncommon for English women. Moreover, in the Renaissance period, whiteness of skin was a standard for perfect feminine beauty. This is further seen in the way he talks about her smell. It is very clear that despite of all her defects, the poet loves her really and sincerely. In fact, Shakespeare takes a completely new twist on the tradition, one that many individuals find insulting, while the rest find …show more content… Throughout the poem, Shakespeare emphasizes the societal norm or perspective that is relatively respected and then denounces it with the exception.


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[My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun] by…

my mistress eyes

That is, it follows a regular rhyming pattern. Shakespeare uses a comparison of his mistress to the societal perspectives of beauty to further stress the need for honesty by presenting perfect beauty as merely an illusion that love creates. Furthermore, William creates a perfect opportunity for readers of the poem, regardless if they are male or female, young or old. In this time period sonnets were a huge part of literature. Plot My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun focuses on the question of what beauty is. Shakespeare questions the concept of beauty from a white perspective by offering more than just one angle of what beauty may entail.

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Sonnet 130: My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun

my mistress eyes

The sestet usually has a rhyme scheme of CDCD or CDC. If snow is white, all I can say is that her breasts are a brownish grey colour. William Shakespeare follows this rhyme scheme perfectly in his poem. This poem also shows how love can sometimes be stronger than disappointment. Thus, whiteness here symbolizes the conventions and the stereotypes. Moreover, Shakespeare utilises the main antagonist, Iago, to portray how men are desperate to achieve what they want and to indirectly fulfil the stereotype of masculinity and power through manipulation.

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My Mistress Eyes Analysis

my mistress eyes

Title Shakespeare did not give titles to his sonnets and so they are referred by numbers. His mistress was not the stereotypical ideal of beauty, to be compared with precious things such as jewels or flowers. Even though he points out all the negative attributes of his mistress, he still loves to hear her talk and thinks that his love for her is rare and special. This is almost a norm for sonnets though. When the poet says that his love for his mistress is rare, it clearly reveals that the poet wants to show his love for her only through his actions and not through false words and comparisons.

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