Famous First Lines: My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun
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Your eyes are like pools. . . and I'm allergic to chlorine
Shakespeare is having fun in Sonnet 130; it is at once both a love poem and a parody of contemporaneous style in court lyricism. While Petrarchan imagery is being taken to task, the sonnet also manages to end on a lyrical note with seeming sincerity of emotion.
The sonnet form was introduced into English literature by Thomas Wyatt (the elder of the two), and it was common for Renaissance poets to translate Italian originals into English as well as write their own sonnets. The content of the sonnet was usually either unrequited love or celebration of the lover's beauty (although Wyatt himself wove some political realities into some of his translations, e.g. "My galley chargèd with forgetfulness").
The imagery Petrarch used in his original laments (over his unrequited love for the beautiful Laura) is curiously wrought, using a series of comparisons for her beauty and grace that were literally grounded in inanimate objects -- for example: skin fair as alabaster, hair like gold, roses in her cheeks, et cetera ad nauseam. If we consider this earnest desire to qualify Laura's beauty, we see that the poet has objectified her, rendering her an icon rather than a living woman.
Petrarch's sonnet sequence about his love for her is just that: a diary of his feelings for this inanimate image of Laura he has created in his mind. English poets, mimiking this process, produced similar sonnet sequences, most famously perhaps Sidney's Astrophil and Stella.
Used sparingly, what came to be known as Petrarchan imagery can be effective. But used without restraint it becomes a silly method of objectifying women, and was open to parody and ridicule. Perhaps the best silly poem is Thomas Campion's "There is a garden in her face," which sounds downright painful. Someone drew a picture for it (I've been searching for it on the web with no luck) that takes the images literally.
So Shakespeare was not alone in poking fun at the genre. "My mistress' [sic] eyes are nothing like the sun" joins in the tradition of using Petrarchan images as a means of satirizing overwrought lyricism and outlandish comparison. By stating what his mistress is not -- not a goddess, not a static image of purity and light -- he draws attention instead to the reality of her appearance and his love for her: "And yet, by heav'n, I think my love as rare/ As any she belied with false compare." For him, she is as beautiful as any of the objectified women in other poets' verses.
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Really interesting and well done, Teresa.
I love your famous first lines.
Thanks, Brenda, Irohner, Paper Moon for coming by and reading. I have a lot of fun writing these hubs.
When I read Shakespeare's sonnets today--or any sonnet--I am amazed and awed that anyone could compose a sonnet at all, let alone a good one. The structure is so precise, the form so challenging, that honestly, I can see why sonnets are rarely written today. It's a pity though because when they are done well they are amazing. Now we objectify women in greeting cards, advertisements, and reality shows. It just isn't the same. Great hub as usual, Teresa. You make all of us here at HP feel a little smarter at least (even if we really aren't)!
I love a good sonnet! When my daughter's English teacher assigned sonnet writing, my daughter was intimidated. And pgrundy, you're right, working within that structure is challenging, but it can be fun, too. Of course, making it great, like Shakespeare, is a whole other issue!
Hey Pam: yes, sonnets are tough, but can be humbling writing exercises!
Queen -- it is fun -- and you're right: making it great is probably the work of a lifetime. . . .
Hi Teresa,
Interesting stuff. Congrats on another hub worth reading.
I write sonnets sometimes. It makes me appreciate Shakespeare even more.
Imagine constraining oneself to write in a form that uses four quatrains and a couplet in iambic pentameter. Of course the final rub is the bard and his peers did not have the resources such as an online dictionary or thesauruses.
Of course the composition was with quill and ink in poor light. Imagine what those people could do today with word processing and Internet reference tools.
Keith
Hey, Keith, thanks for your comment. I confess I prefer the Petrarchan sonnet form over the Shakespearean, as the final couplet can often be little more than an editorial aside (not in this case, though), whereas the sestet has more room to set up a resolution to the situation posited in the octave.
Your writing simply makes me smile. Thanks! :)
I enjoyed this, and learned something! I think I would much rather be thought of as a person than an object. :D
Thanks, Tom; thanks, k@ri, for coming by and taking the time to comment. I appreciate it!
Hi Teresa,
As always, I take home with me something worthwhile after reading your hub. This one is a lesson in literary analysis. Thanks for this, Teresa.
An interesting thought. Is it that the poets could not have these women so they saw them more as unattainable goals than they did as human beings?
Hey francia: thank you for stopping by and reading this.
Pete: yes, I think you're correct; the women became objects of desire, and once that happens, they cease to be real, becoming instead an idealized symbol of the unattainable.
Much enjoyed this article, Teresa. Educational about a topic I care a lot about.
Thanks for coming by, Tom: always good to see you!
I love this sonnet, I think it's funny, but at the same time, a far more sincere love poem than those it parodies.
Isn't it, though? "My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground."
MMM good. :D
Now why didn't I think of that? Yep, Shakespeare is the man! Another lesson learned, thanks for sharing :D
Teresa, you make me nostalgic for English lit class. I do way too little (ok, virtually no) analysis these days. For this reason, HP is a good influence (good new poetry from the likes of Cris A, etc.) Thank you for this hub. Shakespeare totally rocks on all fronts -- imagine being a master of so many genres. How DID he do it:-)??? MM
Hey Cris -- yes, Shakespeare is certainly the man. Thanks for being my best student!
MM --I think he must have been on speed? Thanks for coming by and reading.
Prof Teresa, you are quite the authority on good old Shakespeare, aren't you! :) Thanks for the education!
Hey Elena, I gotta write this stuff down about Shakespeare before I forget it all...
Thanks for another great Hub, Teresa, and keep writing before you forget it - I would be the poorer without your insightful and witty Hubs - so it's pure selfishness on my part to want you to keep on writing!
Love and peace
Tony
Thanks, Tony. I've already forgotten a lot of it, so writing these hubs is a selfish pleasure for me, too!
\Brenda Scully says:
6 months ago
Amazing, enjoyed reading that..... some of those books look good too ...