When first reading this poem, I didn't really understand what exactly the author was trying to say. I mean, lets be honest, the diction used back in Shakespeare's day is never easy to read. But after we analyzed and discussed the themes, symbols, diction, and the significance of some quotes in class, it made much more sense! Basically, this poem revolves around a man (in this case, the speaker of the poem) and his wife. His wife is reflected on as an ugly, dull, not very attractive woman. She is referred to have pale lips and cheeks, dun breasts, dark stringy hair, bad breath, etc. Aside from all that, the speaker in this poem still has a devoted love to this woman. This is why I like the poem so much, because despite the negative comparisons towards this woman, she still has that one person who looks past all that and gets to know the person under. This poem is all about rooting for the "underdog".
It's a classic love story really; something like beauty and the beast (the Joesph Jacobs version, not Disney's, though they are along the same lines). In beauty in the beast, the youngest daughter out of three was forced to live with the beast because her father picked a rose from his garden. She agreed to this because she didn't want harm on her dear father, so somewhat willingly, she spent her days seeing and talking to the beast. Eventually, she began to enjoy the beasts' company. Then one day the beast didn't show up for dinner on time, the girl was worried about the beast, so she went to look for him. She found him behind the garden "huddled up without any life or motion". The girl was devastated! She quickly remembered all the kindness and affection the best had shown her, while declaring her love for the beast, "the hide of the beast split in two and out came the most handsome young prince who told her that he had been enchanted by a magician and that he could not recover his natural form unless a maiden should, of her own accord, declare that she loved him."
Comparing these two stories together, we can plainly see that no matter what kind of physical description you may entail, that doesn't make you the person you are on the inside. The foils in both these stories are examples of a small number of people who don't care what he/she looks like, but loves them for who they are, making their stories refreshing; and their messages too important to pass!
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Some of my favorite quotes in, "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" are:
- "I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/ That music hath a far more pleasing sound."
- "My mistress when she walks, threads on the ground/ And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare".
This tells me that he knows his wife isn't "all that" but he loves her against all odds. Call me crazy, but I believe their love for each other make up for any physical looks she lacks!
*Just a couple links you might be interested in:
1. My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun (Sonnet 130) - by William Shakespeare
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15557
2. Beauty and the Beast - by Joesph Jacobs
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/european/beautybeast.html
It's a classic love story really; something like beauty and the beast (the Joesph Jacobs version, not Disney's, though they are along the same lines). In beauty in the beast, the youngest daughter out of three was forced to live with the beast because her father picked a rose from his garden. She agreed to this because she didn't want harm on her dear father, so somewhat willingly, she spent her days seeing and talking to the beast. Eventually, she began to enjoy the beasts' company. Then one day the beast didn't show up for dinner on time, the girl was worried about the beast, so she went to look for him. She found him behind the garden "huddled up without any life or motion". The girl was devastated! She quickly remembered all the kindness and affection the best had shown her, while declaring her love for the beast, "the hide of the beast split in two and out came the most handsome young prince who told her that he had been enchanted by a magician and that he could not recover his natural form unless a maiden should, of her own accord, declare that she loved him."
Comparing these two stories together, we can plainly see that no matter what kind of physical description you may entail, that doesn't make you the person you are on the inside. The foils in both these stories are examples of a small number of people who don't care what he/she looks like, but loves them for who they are, making their stories refreshing; and their messages too important to pass!
___________________________________________________________
Some of my favorite quotes in, "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" are:
- "I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/ That music hath a far more pleasing sound."
- "My mistress when she walks, threads on the ground/ And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare".
This tells me that he knows his wife isn't "all that" but he loves her against all odds. Call me crazy, but I believe their love for each other make up for any physical looks she lacks!
*Just a couple links you might be interested in:
1. My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun (Sonnet 130) - by William Shakespeare
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15557
2. Beauty and the Beast - by Joesph Jacobs
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/european/beautybeast.html
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