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Quan Hoang

ENG 123

Professor: James Wilson

May 21, 2018

A Timeless Meme

The theme of love is always the subject of literature, film, song and poetry. In the poem

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (Sonnet 130), William Shakespeare expressed his

love for an unconventional woman. Through poetry, metaphor, and mild sarcasm, he composed

a sonnet to highlight his carnal desires to an unconventional woman, not because she is nice, or

she is smart, or she has something special. But, he loved her because she was herself. It is also a

social critique of social conventions that it is very relevant today. It is a classic meme that has

transcended centuries.

“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.”

(lines 1-4). That propel the reader to the idea that this sonata was not made to impress or

enamor a woman but to express the idea that love may go beyond the idea of socially

acceptable notion of beauty. He upsets the elemental idea of shine and celestial bodies as the

apex of natural beauty to then be comparable to humans. He simply states that she is plain and

that is okay. He wants to say to the world that she may not be a beauty, but he loved her the

way she was. For Shakespeare, superficial beauty was not important. It mattered more what

she had to offer than her appearance.

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Her eyes are not bright; her lips are not red; her breasts are not nice, nor her breaths

are pleasant, and she does not walk effeminate. The woman is described as uglier by

comparison to those of the muses of other poets. Shakespeare’s unfamiliar metaphor breaks

protocol to entertain and illuminate the masses about the acceptance of the unconventional

and to say, “ugly people love too.” The poem reflects the idea that Shakespeare is maybe also

settling to his level since was not an attractive man himself. Of course, this is mere speculation;

however, by the way he is portrayed he was not a handsome man based on his century’s

masculine phenotype.

The last two lines “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with

false compare” (lines 13-14) is the sweet confession of the author’s true love for his mistress.

He felt enamored by her beyond the physical realm… maybe even beyond reasonable

expectations. The reader gets the idea that the passion that Shakespeare feels for his muse is

not a mere physical flare, but it is a deeper infatuation where mere looks are not the core

inspiration nor the main motivator for the sonnet.

Shakespeare provides a very keen critique of the subjective nature of beauty on his

sonnet. He goes on to turn the sonnet genre on its head and uses metaphoric language not to

exalt the beauty of this woman. It uses pastel language to describe the inherent ridicule of over

the top phasing. A couple rhymes have the same sound such as sun with dun; red with head;

white with delight; cheeks with reeks; know with go; and sound with ground. The rhythm of his

love-simulating poem is as rhythmic as joyful, youthful, full of dreams, and energetic.

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Shakespeare used an iambic pentameter method for Sonnet 130. Each four lines is a

sentence, and last six lines make a sentence too with pattern stressed and unstressed. It makes

the sound of the poem is smooth and not choppy. The tone of the sonnet provides a playful

rhythm that is akin to modern stand-up comedy. Shakespeare alludes to the most cliché

comparison ever made to then turn it on its head. It is possible to compare Shakespeare’s

sonata to a stand-up routine done by George Carlin in the mid ‘80s. Carlin suggested that words

on their own are innocent, what mattered was the context. So, by taking that approach, it is

then possible to decompose “My Mistress’s Eyes.” Taking the Carlin approach, the use of

exaggeration provides the poem with a zing that makes it light hearted and comical.

Shakespeare’s talent is exalted in this small sonnet. His use of metaphor going against

the grain shows his willingness to play not just with language, but with social norms. It is safe to

say that Shakespeare was a contrarian of his time and that he was not really tied to the

Elizabethan wave of cliché art coming from his contemporaries. My Mistress Eye’s tone

basically turned on its head the general convention of the time. It is possible to call it

controversial to a degree. The author is not singing the praises to a Venus looking woman to

impress not only her, but also his male contemporaries. He basically abandoned that notion

and said in a very stylistic way, “I like big butty and I cannot lie.”

All in all, My Mistress Eye’s is a critique of convention from the 17th century that it still

very relevant today. If Shakespeare were alive today, he would write the same sonata using

modern memes forms to mock our modern sensibilities. It is possible to imagine something like,
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“My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun. Her backside is no Kardashian bum. Her nose is as

long as Nyan Cat. Her teeth are sharp as a bat’s…” It is difficult to find a piece of literature that

is so timeless that it reflects perfectly modern aspiration while maintaining its 17 th century

roots. My Mistress Eyes rhythm, style and wording will remain as the eternal meme of beauty is

in the eye of the beholder.

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Word Cited

Shakespeare, William. “My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun.” The Norton Introduction to
Literature: Portable twelfth Edition. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W.
Norton & Company, 2017. page 669. Print.

“George Carlin: Brain Droppings - National Press Club (Washington DC) | Raven Developers®.”
Raven Developers® - Creative and Interactive Solutions for All Your Web Presence Needs.,
www.ravendevelopers.com/blog/2013/07/george-carlin-brain-droppings-national-press-
club-washington-dc.