"And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare."
The first time I read the poem I was kind of offended on behalf of whoever Shakespeare was speaking to. I then realized it was mocking the typical lovey-dovey poems we're used to hearing about. I honestly didn't expect this out of Shakespeare, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. He is basically telling the truth while shooting down sappy, romantic similes and metaphors other poets had used. No one can honestly say their lover's eyes are "like the sun", because they are just eyes. Their lover cannot be a goddess, because she is clearly human. All of these are lies that have been told to women in the past as flattery - that works. Shakespeare continues on and makes a great point at the end of the poem. He says that his love is unique and true, but it does not need to be represented by these cliches. Shakespeare hints that women do not need to look like flowers or the sun in order to be beautiful, because that is impossible. He simply wants to let his lover know how he truly feels without having to make up ridiculous comparisons that really make no sense.
Just in case you didn't want to reread the poem, you can listen to Daniel Radcliffe read it instead!
No comments:
Post a Comment