Instead, it just means there perfumes smell more delightful than her breath, which is true. He further adds, “And in some perfumes is there more delight/ Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” This statement does not mean that he does not like the breath of his mistress. People tend to exaggerate the beauty of their loved ones in their romantic relationship but the speaker of My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun deals with the issue of love realistically. In contrast, Shakespeare does not see any roses in his mistress’ cheeks. In his poem, There is a Garden in Her Face, Thomas Campion exaggerates that rose and white lilies grow on his beloved’s face. “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun” means she is not required to have breasts as white and pure as snow, at least for the speaker. Here, the speaker’s mistress’ lips are not even as red as coral. If you remember, Robert Burns claims, his love is “like a red red rose” which is nothing more than an overstatement. Shakespeare’s sonnet number 130 begins with “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun / Coral is far redder than her lips’ red.” Sun is the source of light and by degrading his mistress’ eyes in comparison to the sun, the speaker means to say that her eyes are not as sparkling as the sun. His aim in taking this risk seems to be adoring the internal beauty, not the external, of his mistress. Like his other sonnets, William Shakespeare’s sonnet 130, My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun, has a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. Through this sonnet, the speaker defends his love by revealing all the truth about his mistress. After revealing all this truth about his mistress, the speaker then argues that his love for her is as rare as the real presence of a woman whom men eloquently describe through false comparisons.Īnalysis of William Shakespeare’s My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun What is Its Rhyme Scheme? Moreover, he doesn’t like to call his beloved a goddess because she is not different from any ordinary human being who tread on earth while walking. The speaker further mentions that there are some perfumes that are more delightful than his mistress’ breath.įurthermore, he states that he would love to listen to his mistress speak though he knows her voice is not as pleasing as music. He has seen colorful roses in red and white but he promises that he has never seen such beautifully colored cheeks of his mistress. Unlike the white snow, the woman’s breasts are dull greyish-brown, and her hair is black. He says his mistress’ eyes are not like the sun and her lips are not as red as coral. He compares different parts of his mistress’ body with different objects. In William Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 (My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun), the speaker compares his beloved to a number of things and always places her a step behind them. William Shakespeare’s My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun Summary What a splendid example of thinking out of the box, isn’t it? Let’s explore the summary, analysis, theme, and rhyme scheme of My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun in more detail. In this poem, Shakespeare makes a departure from the conventional practice of extolling the apple of one’s eyes. Sonnet 130 ( My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun) is one of William Shakespeare‘s most popular poems.