My Thoughts on "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun"
My Thoughts on “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”
Gabrielle Willis
Dr. Ingo Stoehr
English 1302.V99
27 February 2013
Outline I. Introduction II. Purpose a. Love Parody b. To show he loves her III. Form c. Sonnet d. Iambic Pentameter e. “Turn” f. Alternating pairs g. Couplet Conclusion IV. Content h. Description i. Comparison j. Satire k. Hyperbole of the Allusion V. Conclusion
William Shakespeare was a well known poet and play writer who lived from 1564-1616. In 1609, He wrote the poem, My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun, Sonnet 130. In the poem, Shakespeare describes the woman he loves, in a way that would seem not as complimentary as Petrarchan sonnets would have been. The Dark Lady, who is featured in this poem, is also featured in sonnets 127-154, but this time there is a twist. At first, Shakespeare sounds critical of his mistress, but in the last two lines of the poem, he talks about how he genuinely loves her. This poem can be taken the wrong way at first, but with a closer look at purpose, form, and content, the meaning of this poem becomes much clearer.
Purpose
This poem is a parody to the Petrarchan sonnets. The denotative meaning of parody is a humorous or satirical imitation of a piece of literature or writing (Dictionary.com), and that is exactly what he does here. Shakespeare’s goal was to “poke fun” at the love poems of his time. Petrarchan poems used worn out clichés such as “eyes like the sun” and “skin as white as snow”. I am guessing that Shakespeare was tired of hearing unreal comparisons of women to things in nature. As the last line of the sonnet states “As any she belied with false compare”. He wrote this sonnet to give a realistic comparison of a beautiful woman, without all of the exaggeration and allusions used in Petrarchan sonnets. Shakespeare’s purpose was to show that a woman did not have to fit the mold
Gabrielle Willis
Dr. Ingo Stoehr
English 1302.V99
27 February 2013
Outline I. Introduction II. Purpose a. Love Parody b. To show he loves her III. Form c. Sonnet d. Iambic Pentameter e. “Turn” f. Alternating pairs g. Couplet Conclusion IV. Content h. Description i. Comparison j. Satire k. Hyperbole of the Allusion V. Conclusion
William Shakespeare was a well known poet and play writer who lived from 1564-1616. In 1609, He wrote the poem, My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun, Sonnet 130. In the poem, Shakespeare describes the woman he loves, in a way that would seem not as complimentary as Petrarchan sonnets would have been. The Dark Lady, who is featured in this poem, is also featured in sonnets 127-154, but this time there is a twist. At first, Shakespeare sounds critical of his mistress, but in the last two lines of the poem, he talks about how he genuinely loves her. This poem can be taken the wrong way at first, but with a closer look at purpose, form, and content, the meaning of this poem becomes much clearer.
Purpose
This poem is a parody to the Petrarchan sonnets. The denotative meaning of parody is a humorous or satirical imitation of a piece of literature or writing (Dictionary.com), and that is exactly what he does here. Shakespeare’s goal was to “poke fun” at the love poems of his time. Petrarchan poems used worn out clichés such as “eyes like the sun” and “skin as white as snow”. I am guessing that Shakespeare was tired of hearing unreal comparisons of women to things in nature. As the last line of the sonnet states “As any she belied with false compare”. He wrote this sonnet to give a realistic comparison of a beautiful woman, without all of the exaggeration and allusions used in Petrarchan sonnets. Shakespeare’s purpose was to show that a woman did not have to fit the mold
Cited: Burgess, Anthony. Nothing Like the Sun: A Story of Shakespeare’s Love-Life. New York: W. W. Norton & , 1964. Print. Grace, Dominick. "Literary Contexts In Poetry: William Shakespeare 's "My Mistress ' Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun." Literary Contexts In Poetry: William Shakespeare 's 'My Mistresses ' Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun ' (2006): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. Iambic Poet. Iambic Pentameter. 2013. Web. 21 Feb 2013. Merriam-Webster 's Encyclopedia Of Literature. Merriam Webster, 1995. Print. Miller, Nelson. Basic Sonnet Forms. Sonnet Central. Web. 25 Feb 2013. Shmoop Editorial Team. Sonnet 130. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 22 Feb 2013. "Sonnets by William Shakespeare." Poetry Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2009. 213-350. Literature Criticism Online. Web. 10 Feb 2013. Steele, Felicia Jean. Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 130’. The Explicator 62.3 (2004): 132+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. Whitney, Taylor. Sonnet 130. Wordpress.com. 16 Oct 2012. Blog. 24 Feb 2013.