My Mistress' Eyes: Shakespeare

This poem, as we went over in class today, initially comes off very insultingly. It appears that Shakespeare is saying that his love is ugly and lacks beauty. However, upon analyzing the poem, deeper meaning is found. We see that Shakespeare is satirizing all of the love poems men stereotypically write about women and their overwhelming beauty. Shakespeare says that although she is not that perfect, no one is as perfect as is stated in romance poems. Shakespeare goes further to say that he won't lie about his love, because even though she may not be perfect, she is unique and he loves her for that. So, even though this poem starts out as an insult, after analyzing, it is seen that, in fact, Shakespeare is declaring his love in a unique manner. Thus, this poem turns out to be romantic in its own way.