1. My mistress' eyes are nothing like the Sun,
2. Coral is far more red, than her lips red,
3. If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun:
4. If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head:
5. I have seen Roses damask'd, red and white,
6. But no such Roses see I in her cheeks,
7. And in some perfumes is there more delight,
8. Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
9. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know,
10. That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
11. I grant I never saw a goddess go,
12. My Mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
13. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare,
14. As any she belied with false compare.
Yet I Love
Dedication: To Elizabeth
Telling Elizabeth of her false compare with other forms of beauty, meant as an allusion to the real beauty that she keeps hidden. He finishes never the less with words of his devotion greater and more rare than that which Elizabeth unrightly compares herself.
1st Quatrain: (1-4)
Oxford honestly detailing Elizabeth's beauty something she no doubt won't hear from others. My thought is that the black wires in line 4 are a reflection that wires are what are used to control puppets and thus this is a swipe at her autonomy. Oxford is clearly throwing caution to the wind in desperation and anger to achieve his goal.
2nd Quatrain: (5-8)
Oxford sharing some less than flattering talk of her complexion, and the smell of her breath.
3rd Quatrain: (9-12)
My thought is this was meant to bring her back down to earth.
couplet (13-14),
And yet he expresses his love for her and says no matter her unrealistic flattery she is truly special. In fact he expresses his love for her in spite of her lack of beauty probably meaning to distinguish himself from the rest of her courtiers and counsel.
Commentary:
The point of this sonnet is Oxford’s unconditional love and Elizabeth’s mortality. As a collection of seeming unpleasant remarks made to someone whom the poet professes to love. Clearly one should wonder why a poet would write such a sonnet and to whom such unflattering things might be said. But it makes sense in light of who Elizabeth was and the crimes she had committed against Oxford.She certainly was aware that she was well aged by now and that physically her looks didn’t command the love and affection they once did. Yet she also would not have found it hard to understand that the very nature of her being, commanded a respect for the rarity that she presented and the love she inspired. She having been England's third but now far longest reigning Queen.
But the most important aspect of this sonnet in my view is the prominence of the Sun in line 1. This comparison is in no way accidental. And it should be seen as connected to the Sun references in the previous sonnet. These two sonnets are not traditionally thought of as a pair and perhaps I am also reluctant to suggest such. But clearly there is a connection to them and the under current they both contain is (this excuse the pun), overshadowing reference. The other important aspect is the prominence of the rose and its usage as proper noun. This is also something of an obvious suggestion of Henry in my view.
The one element of this poem that is so often misunderstood I believe are the “black wires” which grow from the subjects head. It is clearly I believe a reference to the wires of a puppet and should be understood in the larger sense of the same charge the poet makes in other sonnets that she is not exercising her own independence and own self will. Thus again the dark lady here is only metaphorically dark and this should not be confused with her physical appearance which as we see from this poem is not a person who is not inspiring lusty romantic poems. She is however someone who commands respect in general, no to mention flattery and allegiance. The manipulation of this poem I would argue is also corroborated by Shakespeare's motivation to write Othello. In fact I would offer that Othello as a Moor amongst the Venetian army was meant to represent the treachery Elizabeth could expect amongst her male counselors who Oxford did not feel had her best interest at heart.
Mark Anderson in his book Shakespeare by Another Name points out that Shakespeare and Oxford actually describes Elizabeth more unflatteringly as Nell the fat kitchen wench in the Comedy of Errors Act 3 scene 2 in the discussion between Antipholus of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse. The inference that it is Elizabeth is Nell is “an El and three quarters (syllables)”. A representation of not only England but surrounding countries. But perhaps more insightful about this scene is the discussion of Nell as (France presumably) “at war with her heir”.
Vendler actually invents another poem to convince us that Shakepeare’s poem is a retort. Her point is that Shakespeare is expressing that his mistress is a real woman, unlike the one described with false compare. While this is actually what Shakespeare is doing in some sense because of the nature of his subject it is well understood that she has been described many times with hyperbole.
KDJ seems under the impression that the speaker boasts defiantly of his mistress’s dark coloring.