Textuality » 4A Interacting
MY MISTRESS' EYES
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 damask'd, 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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COMPREHENSION
>> SHAKESPEAREAN LADY:
•Ø EYES: dark
•Ø LIPS: red far more than the coral red
•Ø BREASTS: dun
•Ø HAIR: black and thick
•Ø CHEEKS: they aren't red and white
•Ø BREATH: it reeks
•Ø VOICE: it has a far more pleasing sound than music
•Ø WAY OF WALKING: she treads on the ground
>> Does the poet describe the woman he loves in the conventional way?
No, he doesn't. The poet, in fact, makes a parody
>>What is the rhyme scheme? Is it the same as in the Petrarchan sonnet?
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. No, it is different.
>> Look at the structure of the sonnet. How many sections can you identify?
I can identify three quatrains and a rhyming couplet
>>SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET:
•Ø STRUCTURE: 3 quatrains + rhyming couplet
•Ø RHYME SCHEME: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
•Ø THEMES: parody of typical convention of courtly love poetry
INTERPRETATION
>>Note down which of the five senses the poet refers to:
•Ø SIGHT: lines 1-2-3-4-5-6
•Ø SMELL: lines 7-8
•Ø HEARING: lines 9-10
>> What do you think is the effect of using sensory images?
Sensory images make the sonnet more realistic, the reader, so, can feel closer to it
>>Focus on the words "yet" and "I think". What do they draw attention to?
They draw attention to "my love as rare"
>>What does the poet refer to whit the final words "false compare"?
He refers to the previous sonnets that were about courtly love: they were unreal because the lady they described was nonexistent
>> What is the meaning of the final couplet?
The meaning of the final couplet is to underline that Shakespearean love, even if the lady described is not perfect, is true and he can't love no other woman
>>Which interpretation/s of this sonnet do you most agree with?
•- This sonnet can be called "anti-Petrarchan"
•- The poet not only parodies the conventions of love poetry, he also underlines that love is dictated from the lover's subjective viewpoint and not by the loved one's objective qualities
•- The poet's objective is to ridicule the woman described in the sonnet
>>Widen your appreciation of this sonnet by reading the critical extract below. Do you agree with this interpretation?
Yes, I completely agree with this interpretation because Shakespeare's aim is to parody Petrarchan viewpoint. Therefore the reader can consider it anti-Petrarchan.
DEFINITION OF "defiant": adj /dɪˈfaɪ.ənt/ insolente, provocatorio:
• proudly refusing to obey authority
• not willing to accept criticism or disapproval
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SHAKESPEARE AND NERUDA
>>Compare Shakespeare's sonnet 129 to sonnet 11 by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).
How is desire for the loved woman presented here?
The love in Neruda's is more carnal and material. The desire for the loved woman is presented as the want for seeing her. In addition he uses frequently the form: "tengo hambre" (I'm hungry) so that he seems to emphasize his lust.