The full experience of reading a poem involves what you assume about the poem beforehand and what you do with the information you receive after reading it. These two factors stood out to me after reading “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun” Before even reading the poem I looked at the title and seen that Shakespear was the author and automatically assumed that this sonnet will be the typical poem full of sophisticated language and beautiful compliments like “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” After reading lines like “And in some perfumes is there more delight/ Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” I realize this poem is more satirical than romantic. I was so distracted by this that I failed to catch the fact that the poem ends with love until I reread it multiple times. The lines “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ As any she belied with false compare.” were assumed to be more insults after focusing too much on trying to read the poem with the intended rhythm, but now I see this was the type of compliment I initially thought the poem would be riddled with.
