My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun Essay

To his Coy Mistress, I would say they are all tragic poems as The Lady

“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun…” is a sonnet written by William Shakespeare and is also known as Sonnet 130. He wrote this poem to mock the conventional Petrarchan love sonnets which are about women who have unattainable beauty. This poem is written in the Shakespearean sonnet format which consists of a total 14 lines with the first 12 lines divided into three quatrains, and the last two lines make up a couplet. The quatrains establish the motif or problem of the poem while the ending couplet explains or resolves the previous lines. Sonnet 130 is a long conceit where the speaker of the poem goes through a long list of comparisons that seem like insults. The speaker uses juxtaposition to show that his love for his mistress is strong by describing her in a blunt way that seems insulting on the surface, but he reveals in the end he loves her even though she is flawed.

Construct a close reading of this poem that demonstrates your awareness of the poet’s body of work.

Women often undergo oppression and subjugation by the male dominated society. Women were merely slaves to the men as they would clean, sweep, work, while they have to maintain their obedience and sanity. Women were targets of oppression outside their work where men abused their wives as they were an entity for their sexual desires when they felt the need to. This exact relationship of “owner - possession” can be seen through the relationships between Rasheed and Mariam, also with Janie and her husbands. Both novels, A Thousand Splendid Suns and Their Eyes were Watching God, show that women have a lower social status, power, and legal rights when women had become property to eyes of men.

The poem’s structure as a sonnet allows the speaker’s feelings of distrust and heartache to gradually manifest themselves as the poem’s plot progresses. Each quatrain develops and intensifies the speaker’s misery, giving the reader a deeper insight into his convoluted emotions. In the first quatrain, the speaker advises his former partner to not be surprised when she “see[s] him holding [his] louring head so low” (2). His refusal to look at her not only highlights his unhappiness but also establishes the gloomy tone of the poem. The speaker then uses the second and third quatrains to justify his remoteness; he explains how he feels betrayed by her and reveals how his distrust has led him

In both poems there is the recurrent theme of irony. In “To His Coy Mistress” the poem’s entire first section is ironic in the sense that the speaker knows he isn’t being genuine. The speaker uses words to his advantage and we can take little of what he says to be truthful. In Line 1, “Had we but world enough, and time”. The first section of the poem is a series of hyperbolic statements meant to impress and flatter the reader but the

symbolic richness, but at the same time the poem supplies the reader with a wide

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by

“That Evening Sun” by William Faulkner is a good example of a great emotional turmoil transferred directly to the readers through the words of a narrator who does not seem to grasp the severity of the turmoil. It is a story of an African American laundress who lives in the fear of her common-law husband Jesus who suspects her of carrying a white man's child in her womb and seems hell bent on killing her.

The structure and tone of the poem enhance the conflict and hopelessness the speaker is feeling towards the woman he loves and desires. For the first twelve lines of the poem there is an “abab” rhyming pattern. This ties into the despairing and desirable tone and how the rhyming scheme can be an example of the speaker constantly going back and forth between emotions for this women. For example, “And that mine eyes take no delight to range About the gleams which on your face do grow.” (Gascoigne 3-4) are two phrases that contradict the speakers feelings. Stating that his eyes take no delight in range can refer to the speaker finding no use or happiness in looking at the woman. Although, he then mentions the gleams upon her face growing, giving the audience the idea that even though the speakers love for the woman causes him deep despair, he still desires her enough to describe her features in attentive detail; in this example the gleams on her face. This shows the back and forth pattern and the speakers struggle when it comes

This poet is about love expressed to his misstress also referred as the dark lady, but at the same time he his mocking her by stating for example: “My misstress’s eyes are nothing like the sun.” At the end he states that he still loves her even while he looks like her at a mocking way.

The mood of the speaker is also vital for the reader’s understanding of the poem. As the poem begins, the speaker seems to be defensive about his position in the relationship, making sure the reader knows that he understands that his lady is unfaithful, and when the speaker asserts that if he understands “false subtleties,” of course he can see through his lady’s lies. In the second quatrain, the

The speaker begins by stating that “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” (line 1) because they have no

The poem can be considered a blazon traditional sonnet although it presents the tradition in an unconventional way. The typical way a blazon sonnet presents itself is through the broken-down description of a woman’s qualities. Women are usually highly praised and they are made to appear so out of reach; they become unobtainable even by the poet themselves. Women are portrayed as a collection of objects rather than human which accentuates the idea that they are so unattainable because no woman like them actually exist. The idea that beauty is what defines, and what controls a man’s love for a woman, is not depicted in Shakespeare’s sonnet, My Mistress’ Eyes. In fact, Shakespeare takes a completely new twist on the tradition, one that many individuals find insulting, while the rest find

When we hear the word “poetry” it often triggers associated thoughts we relate to poetry. Throughout history poetry had been a major influence of every art movement and is known to capture emotions better than any other art form. As an introduction to the arts culture, Once a person is comfortable with reading poetry they begin to reach out and explore other art forms. The appreciation of any art requires the same critical thinking and emotional awareness as poetry, making poetry a great first step toward enlightenment. Poetry has been known to unite readers and writers all over the world. While developing empathy poetry can trigger memories and to read poetry a reader must engage his feelings to receive the full effect. Discovering