As individuals, people are hasty in making judgments about other people’s appearances in an attempt to make a mockery of them. When someone behaves differently than others do, society calls them nicknames or makes a mockery of them. the narrator of the poem sonnet 130 is Rude to the mistress the narrator is referring to in “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun.”(line 1) The narrator detailed the mistress’s body’s faults, the mistress odor, and even the sounds of the mistress’s voice. The sonnet’s speaker describes the lady the narrator loves. The narrator draws many analogies between the mistress and the sun, corals, and flowers. The mistress pales in comparison to those lovely things despite not being as attractive. The narrator attempts to describe his mistress in the rudest ways possible by comparing the mistress to illogic and ugly stuff like wires of gold despite adding flavors of love sentences in minimal parts of the poem.
The narrator compares the mistress’s hair to gold wires or threads; therefore, the mistress’s hair is awful! Following that, the narrator rudely describes additional physical traits and makes the mistress look weird. “Black wires grow on the mistress head” (line 3). The poem both shocks and appeals to audiences who wish to perceive women as sensitive and beautiful creatures within the society; Shakespeare’s lady was an ordinary woman with human flaws, not a goddess. Additionally, the narrator claims the mistress lacks gorgeous skin and hair and has terrible breath. The narrator asserts that the mistress is not a deity but a human being and insists that the mistress is not compared to a god in whatever way. Within the last two lines, the narrator states that the narrator loves the mistress but does not attempt to reach the mistress with things the mistress is not. The narrator creates a realistic picture of the lady by using unusual comparisons. In this metaphor, the mistress’ eyes represent the sun. The sun conjures up images of radiance. The mistress’ eyes aren’t brilliant and sparkling since they’re “nothing” like the sun (line 1). The speaker’s choice of analogy implies that the woman’s eyes are unremarkable and not pleasing, and this is a rude way to describe a woman.
In his sonnet, the narrator suggests that genuine love is not dependent on external appearance. At first sight, Shakespeare appears harsh in his description of his mistress. The speaker says, “If hairs are wires, then black wires grow on the mistress head” (line 4). This phrase expresses the speaker’s displeasure with his mistress. His disapproval extends to the mistress’s hair, which the narrator finds unacceptable. Throughout the sonnet, the persona describes his mistress’s looks critically. The narrator is telling the truth, and these faults don’t bother him. So, the poem is lovely. Shakespeare had no issue with not possessing the “prettiest” mistress, as shown by his description of the mistress: “black wires grow on the mistress head”[sic] (line 4). The narrator likes a lady who is more lovely within than externally. Wires were a famous picture in the speaker’s day. The wires are golden wires used to create elaborate hair nets for ladies. The wires represent golden hair. But the mistress does not have golden hairs that the persona thinks are beautiful; the mistress’s hair is dark, which is a statement to portray how ugly the narrator thinks she is.
The poem flatter in surprising ways and to hate its mistress. This poem appears to be satirizing conventional love poetry by stating the mistress is very defective. Yet, Shakespeare may have intended these words to indicate the narrator loves the mistress regardless of the mistress’s appearance. Shakespeare states in “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” that “I love to hear the mistress speak” (line 9). A passionate defense of everything that is not stereotypical, unexpected, and distinctive. This persona sounds like the class clown, and even when the narrator is earnest, the narrator needs to figure out how to make light of himself. It would be like if his instructor assigned him to compose love poetry. The narrator’s done it, although not without mocking love poetry “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare” (line 13). So, the narrator could irritate his neighbors. His sarcastic tone prevents the reader from taking the poem’s theme too literally, and the narrator has a knack for helping the reader view things differently.
As a result, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” is a remarkable Shakespearian love poem portrayed obscenely. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” can be read as a sarcastic sonnet or as a sincere confession of real love covered with insults. This sonnet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and beloved sonnets. The persona sometimes does not love or like the woman’s appearance but instead mocks the mistress. The paradox in the poem is that the persona recognizes the mistress love’s flaws yet still loves the mistress. Since this poem is about individuals describing people they love wrongly and maybe make the woman feel unloved or sceptical of someone’s connection, the tone is considered Rude.
Works Cited
Budhathoki, Mahendra Kumar. “The Application of Hasya Rasa in Shakespeare’s “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun” And Marvel’s “To His Coy Mistress.” The Outlook: Journal of English Studies, vol 11, 2020, pp. 67-76. Nepal Journals Online (JOL).