Poetry
Techniques
Simile
Example from Poem
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
Metaphor
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
Couplet
(structure)
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
Structure
The structure of this sonnet is a parody of a traditional
sonnet . Traditionally, sonnets are written by men and
compare their lovers with beautiful things to highlight how
rare they are. But in this sonnet, Shakespeare uses
comparisons that reveal his lover to be ordinary. But in the
final couplet he reveals that he loves his mistress as much
as any other beautiful woman.
As any she belied with false compare.
Possible Meanings
Here, Shakespeare uses similes to show that his mistress (lover)
is actually unattractive. By saying ‘her eyes are nothing like the
sun’, he is saying that her eyes are the opposite and are dull.
When Shakespeare compares her lips to coral he finds that,
‘Coral is far more red.’ This comparison implies that her lips are
not red at all.
In these lines, Shakespeare compares his lover to a goddess, but
admits he does not see a goddess. In this metaphor,
Shakespeare acknowledges that his lover is human and not
someone who is immortal or more beautiful that anyone else.
The couplet is important to the meaning of this sonnet. While
the sonnet, up to this point, appears that Shakespeare thinks his
lover as being ugly and unworthy of love, this couplet reveals
that this is not the case. In this couplet, Shakespeare reveals
that while he knows his lover may not be the beautiful woman,
he still loves her. The couplet also suggests in the final lines, ‘As
any she belied with false compare’ that there are other women
who are considered more beautiful (but are ‘false’ and not real)
and he finds his lover as beautiful as any of these.
The structure is clever on two levels. One, because it reuses the
sonnet structure to point out that men uses sonnets (and
similes/metaphors) to falsely highlight their lovers’ beauty. Two,
because the poem appears to show Shakespeare’s displeasure
or disappointment in his lover’s beauty (or lack of). But actually
the poem is very loving, because Shakespeare is saying that he
loves his mistress, even knowing her faults. This is a realistic and
healthy love.