Textual Analysis: My Mistress’ Eyes

The title has a strong effect on the reader: first of all for the use of the alliterative sound “m” that focuses the reader attention on the central word: “Mistress”. It is interesting to find out why the poet refers to a woman calling her Mistress. Furthermore the title expresses an idea of possession through the use of the possessive adjective “My” and the Saxon genitive (referred to “Mistress”). As a consequence the reader may conclude the poet has special attachment to the lady.

Just looking at the layout it soon appears clear that poem is arranged into Shakespearian sonnet form: three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. The reader may aspect Shakespeare will follow the rhyming conventions of English sonnet: ABAB for the quatrain and CC for the couplet.

On a first reading the reader can ascertain what is been said in the previous paragraph.

In the first stanza Shakespeare makes lots of comparisons between his lady and natural elements: he says his mistress’ eyes are not as bright as the sun, her lips are not as red as coral, her skin complexion is not white as the snow and her hair are like black wires.
Shakespeare go on in the following stanza: he have never seen on her mistress’ cheek the colors of the roses and the breath she reeks cannot be compared to delight of perfumes.
Third stanza reflect the same structure of previous one: despite he enjoys to speak to his lady, her voice is not as pleasing as music and her gait is not as graceful as a goddess’ one.

In the first quatrain, the speaker spends one line on each comparison between his mistress and something else (the sun, coral, snow, and wires). In the second and third quatrains, he expands the descriptions to occupy two lines each. Furthermore in the second and third stanzas he uses a lot of first person (“I”) that emphasize his increasing implication, in spite of language used in the first one .
It creates the effect of an expanding and developing argument.
The quatrains disappoint reader’s expectations: thinking of courtly love conventions, the reader may expect the lady to be compared to an angel, perfect and beautiful. Poet’s cleverness consists of using courtly love code and turning it upside down: his mistress is not the icon of beauty as it had generally been represented by the conventions of love poetry of his time.

The final couplet represents the turning point: here the poet celebrates his lady as a precious creature even if she is not perfect. He does not make false compares and exalts a unattractive woman to prove the strength of his love: he loves his lady just the way she is.