The Presentation of Women in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 and Griffin’s

Shakespeare's My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun Many authors compose sonnets about women whom they loved. Most of these authors embellish their women's physical characteristics by comparing them to natural wonders that we, as humans, find beautiful. Shakespeare's "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" contradicts this idea, by stating that his mistress lacks most of the qualities other men wrongly praise their women for possessing. Shakespeare presents to one that true love recognizes imperfections and feels devotion regardless of flaws, while satirically expressing his personal thoughts on Petrarchan sonnets. Through the use of comparisons, the English sonnet and an anti-Petrarchan approach, he creatively gets his point across.

Renaissance readers would understand the way Shakespeare was describing this woman and why he was. He wasn’t they only who saw these women in such ways. Shakespeare is parodying the already hackneyed views of “beauty” as defined by society and the outlandish metaphors use to describe the beauty of the person, Shakespeare “ sonnet 130” is basically saying “look , my love is not perfect and her lips aren’t as red as roses and her eyes are not as blue as sapphires, but she is beautiful to me simply because I love her”(Educator Emeritus 2007). He is slightly making fun of all the poem who use those incredibly unrealistic comparisons to declare the depth if their love. He truly has a sense of humor, and this is still so true today.

it suggests the female he is addressing is not physically attractive and that despite this he loves her. In order to convey this idea he uses trope like language used in love poems and suggests the his “mistress” is not this, shown in the first line and throughout (quote and analyse). this creates the idea that the she is human and not the idealistic beauty as set out out in daniels poem. This humanising element to Shakespeare's poem contradicts the theory of Debeauvoir which suggests women to be other (quote). Also, the nature of the poem confuses her idea that to men there is the good and bad woman this is because this poem is suggested to be aimed at shakespeares dark lady and at first glance you may assume that this means she would fall into the trope of the bad women.

In Shakespeare’s sonnet 130, the speaker ponders the beauty, or the lack thereof, of his lover. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker presents his lover as an unattractive mistress with displeasing features, but in fact, the speaker is ridiculing, through the use of vivid imagery, the conventions of love poems and the way woman are portrayed through the use of false comparisons. In the end, the speaker argues that his mistress may not be perfect, but in his eyes, her beauty is equal to any woman who is abundantly admired and put through the untrue comparison. The speaker paints a picture of his lovers’ uninspiring beauty. In the first quatrain by describing his, “mistress’ eyes” (Shakespeare 1) as they, “are nothing like the sun” (Shakespeare

Despite the negative connotations of his mistress, Shakespeare speaks a true woman and true love. The sonnet is a "how-to" guide to love. This poem speaks of a love that is truer than denoting a woman's physical perfection or her "angelic voice." As those traits are all ones that will fade with time, Shakespeare exclaims his true love by revealing her personality traits that caused his love. Shakespeare suggests that the eyes of the woman he loves are not twinkling like the sun: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (1).

Not to mention he views all her unique ways and admits that he loves to hear her speak. This signifies that he loves her just the way she is, flaws and all, setting a more realistic view of his lover. McKay on the other... ... middle of paper ... .... Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face. It’s about having a pretty mind, pretty heart, and most importantly, a beautiful soul. Shakespeare’s speaker saw his lovers’ imperfections and flaws as being her beauty.

It is known that poems were circulated between poets and the poem attacks other poets who flatter their lovers with false comparisons and ridiculous promises, ‘as any she belied with false compare’. Shakespeare claims that that he loves his mistress so much that he can be truthful about her and not exaggerate a beauty that is not there, which conveys a more sincere and genuine tone than a flattering love poem. ‘And yet, by heaven I think my love as rare, As any she belied with false compare’ Shakespeare writes with huge emphasis on her less attractive features, ‘But no such roses see I in her cheeks;’ illustrating that in spite of all these flaws, he still loves her for her intelligence and her spirit ‘I love to hear her speak’ and that it is her imperfections that make her perfect for him. He also makes it very clear that he does not appreciate the artificial efforts women make to enhance their appearance ‘And in some perfumes is there more delight’. The phrase suggests that although perfume may have a delightful smell in comparison to his mistress’ breath ‘Than in the breath my mistress reeks’ it is insignificant to him as he is more intereste... ... middle of paper ... ...ed has betrayed and left him.

He accepts that she is not what she used to be but he still loves her. Both sonnets are designed to solve a paradox. Shakespeare develops a paradox in the quatrain stanzas, which he resolves in the couplet. He paints the picture of an unlovable woman who he calls his mistress, but in the couplet, he accepts her as she is, and even describes her as a rare gem (Shakespeare 38). On the other hand, the Petrarch’s paradox is in the resolution.

It is clear that Marvell does not have enough time to love the lady properly, and the language and structure of the poem creates an overall humorous and fun attitude towards love. ‘Sonnet,’ however, uses a structure and vocabulary that explores the unconditional great depth of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning’s true love. It is apparent in the sonnet that she has all the time in the world for her husband. As a result, ‘Sonnet’ has a more serious, religious and romantic attitude towards love compared to fun ‘To His Coy Mistress.’

.” The narrator’s descriptions help the reader describe the situation: he verbalizes, “And I untightened next the tress/ About her neck; her cheek once more/ Blushed bring beneath my burning kiss” Situational irony and description contribu... ... middle of paper ... ...ories depiction of love. The two narrators love their women even though they are of different social classes. One woman is beautiful and one is not, but that does not change the fact that these women are loved by their significant others. Without each other, their lives would be meaningless. Although these poems have the same theme, each man presents his love in a tremendously different way.