My Mistress Eyes Annotations

Shakespeare’s sonnet, My Mistress’ Eyes, explores the common and oft-heard comparisons created concerning one’s love to the material objects of beauty, and considers the value within such correlations. As the essay explores these associations, it ultimately comes to the conclusion that such comparisons can not properly depict the love that is present towards a close other. As the speaker begins his sequence of comparisons regarding his “mistress,” he takes an unusual turn, pointing out that his mistress is, matter-of-factly, “nothing like the sun” (1). As the juxtapositions continue, the seemingly non-admiring writer describes coral as being “far more red than her lips,” snow being white in contrast to her “dun breasts,” and even finishes
As he declares how “[he] love[s] to hear her speak,” he suggests a strong turning point within his comparisons; that perhaps, after depicting all of the contrasting differences that he sees in his close other, he will go on to point out all of the pleasing qualities that he sees within his mistress, such as her voice (9). However, as the speaker splits this line by using the turning word, “yet,” he quickly returns back to describing her to the beautiful things that lie within the material world. Continuing the pattern of making comparisons across two lines, he contrasts the lady’s voice with the worldly music, which “hath a far more pleasing sound”
Except for loving to hear her speak, this speaker has not described any of the woman’s attributes in a positive light. It is the last two lines of the sonnet that give way to the larger picture as to what the man intends to tell those who read along. While all of the other lines in the sonnet contain an iambic pentameter of 5 meters, this line stands out at 5.5 meters, beginning with the words “and yet,” signaling the turning point that will transform the story from being just a list of unfortunate comparisons to something greater. The man takes these last two lines as a means of conclusion, resolving that as far as he is concerned “[his] love [towards his mistress is] as rare” as any woman that has ever been “belied with false compare”