The Average Woman

William Shakespeare

Her Mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun (Sonnet 130)

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare. 

First I will begin by saying this is my favorite sonnet. In the poem Shakespeare takes completely different approach when describing the beauty of his mistress. His aberrant choices of diction create a realistic, appealing image that also touches the reader's heart. Unlike many other poets who feel they need to compare their lovers with venus and gold, Shakespeare uses practical metaphors. A deeper love and a sense of honesty emanates from the words of the poem. 

Almost the entire poem (lines 1-12) appears to be complaining about a less than satisfactory woman saying, "her breast are like dun," "no such roses on her cheeks," and even "the breath that from my mistress reeks." Nevertheless, in the final two lines there is a twist in the speaker's attitude: "And yet . . . my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare." In other words, there is no need to make false comparisons his my mistress, because he is in love with her. Though Shakespeare is writing before the beginnings of the feminist movement, I thing he is coming from a feministic standpoint. Culture has created the image of the perfect woman, but it is impossible for ladies to reach these set standards. Shakespeare shows in the poem that physical attraction isn't all that matters in a woman, and every girl is unique in her own way--true beauty.