At the beginning of “Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare in first glance it looks like the poet is demeaning and expressing his contrast through comparing her with nature’s beauty. The poet narrates “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;” meaning that compared to nature’s beauty, his mistress is nothing close to it. Rather she is the opposite. But at the end of the poem we see that, poets who compare their lovers to nature are not really describing them as they are, but idealizing them – and therefore, the poet seems to hint, they cannot love their beloved as much as he loves his mistress.
From a reader’s perspective, through the poem what the speaker means is even though all the imperfections, his mistress is rare and unique. His beloved is unlike the beautiful things of nature. She is as she is, not a lady with heavenly attributes. The speaker loves a lady with whom he can share his heart. There is no need to have a goddess if one has a partner who understands the minute emotional impulses. Overall, the poem signifies the deep love and adoration for his mistress by the use of demeaning phrases in a meaningful way.
