My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun (Sonnet 130) Â by William Shakespeare
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.
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Speaker won’t exaggerate—but he loves her, even if she isn’t perfect
These are the ideas of beauty
She might not have those features, but he still loves her
She’s perfect because she is the way he describes her—
Or is no one perfect?
He’s in love with her imperfections
Is it his wife?
Speaker is in love with the woman
At a distance?
She is black?
She doesn’t smell so good?
Shakespeare in his Poem, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”
Shakespeare in his Poem, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” shows his honesty in being objective in describing his mistress. He refrain from being frivolous that was the norm during the 1600’s and still these modern times of writing. Maybe he is being sarcastic to his fellow Poets and show how frail they are in being afraid of loving someone who in their eyes are not that which they can be praised of having on their arm whiles taking their stroll down the street or wherever they may be.
Shakespeare showed his valor in describing his mistress as,” My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun”, “Coral is far red than her lips’ red”. These words speak of her imperfections, as her being not too nice or beautiful as that of the norm of the times. In these lines he showed that his mistress is just human. She is not an Angel from the heavens, or a Goddess that walk the earth, or is she like the Wonders of the World, this shows his ability to be objective and honest with his mistress, himself, and the world at large. Also he is brave enough to declare her as being not that beautiful and that he loves her.
As being sarcastic to his fellow Poets, he says, “I grant I never saw a goddess go: My mistress when she walks, treads on the ground.” This here he is saying his mistress is but human, not an angel that walks on thin air, but that she is like everyone else, she is a normal human being with her flaws, but he loves her. It is saying he is not the normal man who looks only skin deep, or the outer looks, but that he looks for the inner beauty, for that maybe what holds his love. This shows maturity as a Poet, and as a man.
It also seems like an awakening, a realization of beauty’s and love’s false impression. Because of credited or conceived ideas of beauty people can be superficial in their belief of what it is. Shakespeare found love in a deeper place… where to others may seem impossible to find because they are guided by descriptions and directions Shakespeare did not follow.
He points out that his love is rear because the common impression of love and beauty is not his mistress. To Shakespeare these are all false impression of love and beauty because that’s not where he found love or saw beauty.
I agree with the previous comments. I also think another interpretation could be that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps if we saw this woman Shakespeare describes, we would not find her beautiful. The way he describes her comes up as almost deficient. Some people can only imagine the perfect woman/man for themselves, and the idea of having a significant other who is ‘average’ or below average is revolting. So despite her deficiencies and descriptions that scream ‘average’, Shakespeare still says
“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.”
Which I understood to mean: I would prefer her over any of the other dazzling women that are described with eyes like the sun, cheeks like roses, etc. any day.
i also agree with previous comments. Shakespeare described as if the person was not beautiful on the outside. However, he still loves her for her imperfections.”My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare”, Shakespeare went in the description of his mistress deeply. He never seemed to be unhappy of how she looks. Furthermore, Shakespeare turned that imperfection of his mistress into something he could love about her. That shows how someone can turn the “bad” into the “good”.
Shakespeare knows the sun is big and bright fillled with light. He is fully aware that his misstress isn’t this. He saw something deeper in her besides her minor flaws. I agree with the other comments that beauty is from within and not only what you see on the outside. There are times when you look at a person from the outside and their beautiful but once you hear what they say it’s not a great effect. The point is that he fell inlove with her not because of her beauty but because of everything else she had to offer. She was imperfectly perfect to him.