My Mistress's Eye: Shakespeare

William Shakespeare wrote "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" in 1609. This jesting poem is a realistic portrayal of his mistress that mocks other poets of his time. He uses literary techniques such as meter and rhyme to create a beautiful sonnet that flows together, and uses word choice and diction to paint a vivid picture of both his mistress and the aspects of nature he is comparing her to. Shakespeare shows that he does not need to idolize and unduly compliment his mistress to convey his love for her, which was a very unique view amongst poets of this time.

This particular work of Shakespeare is a sonnet, which is a fourteen line poem using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes. Shakespeare is both the author and the speaker, which means he is also the voice of the poem. He is a middle-aged man who wrote this poem about his mistress, who was often featured in his works. At this time, he was also romantically involved with his patron, the Lord of South Hampton. In sharp contrast, Shakespeare idolizes the Lord, while he is truthful and sometimes unflattering to the mistress.

This sonnet proceeds in a straightforward way. It is made up of 3 quatrains and one rhyming couplet. Each quatrain contains two couplets, which are two lines of any length that rhyme with one another. These couplets are closed, which means the syntax of one couplet does not carry over into the next. Shakespeare uses an iambic meter, which is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. The poem also produces a repetition of similar or duplicate sounds at regular intervals by following an AB-AB/CD-CD/EF-EF/GG rhyme scheme. The pattern of end rhymes that is used allows the words and lines to melodically flow together.

In the first twelve lines, Shakespeare compares his mistress to various aspects of nature, with each time his mistress falling short. For example, "Coral is far more red than her lips' red" (Shakespeare1. 2), and, "I love to hear her speak, yet well I know that music hath a far more pleasing sound" (Shakespeare 1. 9-10). He uses colors and other words to describe the natural beauties, which can then be used by the reader to paint a mental picture of the woman.

This poem can be viewed in two different ways. The first is that it was intended as a love poem addressed to and written for his mistress. Although he emphasizes that the woman is a mere mortal and he makes no attempts to over praise her, he still professes his love for her in the last two lines. He states, "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare" (Shakespeare 1. 13-14). This shows that Shakespeare loves the woman for who she really is, and is comfortable enough with her to tell her the truth. He is confident enough in their love for one another to not have to call her something that she is not, and shows that he is accepting and content with the person