What does the line mistress eyes are nothing like the sun literally mean?

Expert Answers This line literally means that his mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun. They are not made of the same material. They do not shine as bright; this can be taken metaphorically as well.

What is the message of Sonnet 130?

Sonnet 130 is a kind of inverted love poem. It implies that the woman is very beautiful indeed, but suggests that it is important for this poet to view the woman he loves realistically. False or indeed “poetical” metaphors, conventional exaggerations about a woman’s beauty, will not do in this case.

What does mistress mean in Sonnet 130?

Here we are introduced for the first time to the main character in this poem, the speaker’s “mistress.” Today, when we use the word “mistress,” it’s usually to refer to a woman who is dating a married man. In Shakespeare, though, it was more general, like “my love” or “my darling.”

What is the tone of my mistress eyes?

The tone of the poem is mocking. The tone becomes one of reassurance in the last two lines. The speaker talks about how his true love comes from his mistress’ human attributes. He understands that she is not a goddess or the “ideal woman,” but to him she is everything.

Why her breasts are dun?

by William Shakespeare If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. Than in the breath that from my Mistress reeks.

What does it mean when someone’s eyes are like the sun?

To be drunk. The phrase might refer to the unsteady gait of one who is drunk (likened to one who is blinded by the sun). A: “Don’t mind him, he just has the sun in his eyes.” B: “Seriously? How is he drunk already?”

Is Sonnet 130 a traditional love poem?

Sonnet 130 consists of 14 lines. It is a traditional English love sonnet, which is divided into three quatrains and a concluding heroic couplet in the end. The poem consists of external rhymes. Its rhyme scheme has the form abab cdcd efef gg.

What is the metaphor in Sonnet 130?

“If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white.” Metaphor: It is used to compare an object or a person with something else to make meanings clear.

What are dun breasts?

Skin and breasts were often described as whiter than snow. Breasts were also compared to pearl and ivory. The wittiness of this line is is in the use of the agrestunal word ‘dun’, which brings the reader down to earth with a bump. OED glosses it as: Of a dull or dingy brown colour; now esp.

What does my mistress when she walks treads on the ground mean?

I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. Here’s another thought that is split over two lines. In line 11, the speaker essentially tells us that he’s willing to admit that he’s never seen a goddess move. (See why Shakespeare’s the poet and not us?

What does she belied with false compare mean in the final couplet?

In the couplet, however, the speaker declares that, “by heav’n,” he thinks his love as rare and valuable “As any she belied with false compare”—that is, any love in which false comparisons were invoked to describe the loved one’s beauty.

What does treads on the ground mean?

When you tread on the earth, you walk on it.

What does my mistress eyes are nothing like the Sun?

What does my mistress eyes mean? “Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes arenothing like the sun” Summary. The speaker describes the eyesof the woman he loves, noting that they arenot like the sun. Though the speaker admits that he hasnever seen a goddess move, he isstill sure that his lover moves like an ordinary person, simply walking on the ground.

What does it mean to be a mistress?

Today, when we use the word “mistress,” it’s usually to refer to a woman who is dating a married man. In Shakespeare, though, it was more general, like “my love” or “my darling.”

What does he say about his mistress and love?

He says his mistress and love is a rare one “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare” and she is as special as those women who poets have always made false comparisons of beauty “As any she belied with false compare.”

What does it mean when Shakespeare calls a woman a mistress?

Today, when we use the word “mistress,” it’s usually to refer to a woman who is dating a married man. In Shakespeare, though, it was more general, like “my love” or “my darling.” As we read the next few lines though, we see that the comparison is a standard way of praising a beautiful woman in a poem.