Shakespearean Sonnets
May 11, 2009Choose one sonnet to memorize and explain your choice, then, compare the two sonnets we read today. How are they similar? How are they different? Be specific and clear in your response .
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.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
May 11th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I have decided to memorize the “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” sonnet because it strikes me as beautiful, charming, and elegant. Also, it is an extremely famous sonnet and wouldn’t we all like to impress people?
I think that these two sonnets are very similar, which was why it was hard to choose one to memorize. “Shall I compare thee” is talking about how a certain person is even better than a summer day for many reasons. Some of the reasons he stated were that summer is windy, hot, and passes by too quickly. Shakespeare then says that this person will never be forgotten, but they shall live on in his sonnets, which of course will become immortal.
The next sonnet, “My mistress’s eyes” emphasizes mainly on imperfections. Shakespeare goes on and on for almost the whole sonnet about saying his mistress’s flaws. Such as: her eyes aren’t as bright as the sun, her lips aren’t as red as coral, her skin isn’t as white as snow, her smell isn’t as delightful as perfume, and her voice isn’t as beautiful as music, and so on. The last comparison begins to turn the sonnet in a different direction: “My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground,” which says that she is real, and isn’t perfect; kind of summarizing the previous lines of the poem. Then, in the last couplet he states: “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare.” This last sentence says that even though when his mistress is compared to more beautiful things, and she is not faultless, he still loves her. One might also interpret from this that he loves her BECAUSE of her flaws and her imperfections. I like the message this sonnet is conveying, because sometimes people think that they have to be perfect, but they don’t. No one is real if they have no flaws, and it is their flaws that make them unique and lovable.
The differences between these two sonnets is that in the “Shall I compare thee” poem, Shakespeare is saying that she is better than the summer, and that’s why he loves her, while in “My mistress’s eyes” poem, he is saying that there are tons of things better than her, and that’s why he loves her. Two completely different approaches and reasoning for his love in the two sonnets, yet when I first looked at them from far away they seem almost identical.
May 11th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
The Sonnet I chose to memorize is the one that starts “Shall I compare thee to a summer’ day?” I decided to memorize this one because it is the more famous one. In numerous movies and books I have read that first line. I think it would be impressive to be able to recite the entire thing. Also, this one is more romantic and seemingly more poetic than the other one. I also believe that the second one has a sort of evil and mean sense to it. That is, until you reach the end. I think it is a lot nicer to be able to tell someone how beautiful they are through a nice sonnet rather than tell someone that they love them, even if they are the ugliest thing they’ve ever seen.
The two sonnets we were given as an option for our memorization were very similar. Both sonnets compare the person they are addressed to to nature. In the ‘Summer’s Day’ one they are compared to summer, and in the ‘My Mistress…’ one the woman is compared to a rose. Both use imagery to guide the senses. The two sonnets were written by Shakespeare and written in iambic pentameter, and each sonnet bears 14 lines (of course.) The two sonnets are also similar because they are both written as an ode to their love. For two sonnets that are supposedly opposites, they both share a lot of similarities.
As similar as they are, these two sonnets are very different. The mistress one says that there lover is ugly. Apparently, her hair is like wires and she is as white as paper (which I find rather rude being very pale myself!). In the other Sonnet, the lover is gorgeous. So gorgeous, that a comparison to summer doesn’t do her justice. I have a feeling that the first sonnet is a more sincere love than the second. I can’t come to conclusions just based on fourteen lines, but I have some proof. The first sonnet is delivered to someone so positively hideous, yet as ugly as she may be; the one delivering it still has a very passionate love for her. The second sonnet sounds like a pick up line. Saying “Can I compare you to summer, because you are HOT!” or something stupid similar to that. Also, the second one doesn’t mention a thing about her personality, when the first sonnet is obviously a love due to personality because no one would love someone simply because they look as bad as that! And, as Darra confirmed, the love because although she isn’t perfect, this woman is REAL!
May 11th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I chose the first sonnet — “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun…” — because it feels more real to me: the speaker doesn’t praise only the subject’s appearance as in the second. True, hearing yourself (and the writer) praised is more romantic, but I’d want to hear what one has to say about the subject’s personality. I want to have love despite what flaws they may be in both people. The two sonnets seem to be complete opposites at first, but the first turns out to be one of, as Devin said, what feels a more sincere love than the second. They are similar in that they are about love and praise their subjects, and different in what sort of love is portrayed and what is prized in the wo/man spoken of.
May 11th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I chose the second sonnet, the one where he compares the person to a summer’s day, because it is more romantic than the other one, and I actually have heard it before, so I thought it would be kind of cool to now learn it.
These two sonnets are similar, in that they are both about someone that Shakespeare loves. But one is saying how perfect the person is, how he loves her so much and she is beautiful, better even than a nice summer day. He talks about how this person’s beauty does not dim like the sun does sometimes, and because this beauty is now in words, it will be eternal, and will never go away.
The other sonnet is quite the opposite. It talks about how this person is the opposite of perfection – she is pale, her lips aren’t red, her hair is wiry, she has bad breath – nothing like the beauty that is described in the other poem. But then, at the end, he says that even though she is not beautiful, he loves her even with her flaws.
The second sonnet is sweeter, and to be honest, I’d much rather hear this sonnet from my boyfriend than the other one, even though they are both ways of saying, “I love you.” But I thought it was interesting that Marnie said that the first one was more real. Sure, the person in the second poem is obviously much prettier than the first, but if the person is as ugly as he’s saying, he must really love her for what’s on the inside. So he loves the first one despite her flaws, but he loves the second because she has none.
May 11th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I chose to memorize the second sonnet, because in all honesty, I just find it more poetic and intriguing than the other. Also, I was originally drawn to this sonnet by its very familiar line, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day,” and decided that it would be fun to know.
These two sonnets are very similar, as they both speak of a woman with whom the speaker is in love. I can’t agree fully with Leila, as I do not believe that Shakespeare loves the woman that has inspired his sonnet. I would see his writing as either being written for another to speak or on a whim.
But the two sonnets are also very different in content. While the second sonnet is comparing the woman’s eyes to the sun, her loveliness even larger than that of a summer’s day. But the first sonnet is beginning with a list of flaws and imperfections in a woman- bad breath, dull eyes- and then concluding with a solid explanation of how he [which I use loosely, with no knowledge of who really said it] loved the woman not despite her flaws, but for them also.
I think it’s quite funny that Shakespeare can write two such opposing and similar sonnets and still manages to take nothing out of the other.
May 11th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
For the sonnet to memorize, I chose to memorize the second one. To be honest, I was at first unsure of which sonnet to choose. In my opinion, the first one had some form of twist to it. The beginning line especially I was surprised with. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Romeo compared his Juliet to being as beautiful as the sun. Often, they spoke of each other with details indicative of great perfection. Instead, this sonnet claims that his lady love does not have eyes as bright and beautiful as the sun, her lips were not pure red, and her cheeks were not rosy. She was no perfection like how Romeo and Juliet saw each other. She was human, and yet, the man still loved her, which made it different from the next sonnet. The second one spoke of how she was a goddess. Perhaps though, his love made him see her as beautiful. The concept of this sonnet was that the woman was extraordinarily beautiful. She was even more beautiful than a summer’s day. Many other beauties may eventually decline through the years, but this girl was preserved and eternally beautiful through the sonnet written for her. Another thing I found different was how I thought the love was slightly different. The first one seemed to me like growing love where the man got to know the woman and he fell in love with her despite her flaws while the second sounded like Romeo and Juliet with love at first sight. Although they were very different, they were similar in the fact that they wrote about love. Despite this difficulty, I chose to memorize the second one. The beginning lines were fairly well known and I thought that it was a lovely and sweet description. The last line really made me want to choose it. The fact that although people eventually changed in facial features that the girl is forever beautiful in the story was really a captivating and interesting idea. Her loveliness would never be forgotten.
May 11th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
I chose to memorize and recite the second sonnet. I chose so because the first sonnet is very risky if told to one’s girlfriend or boyfriend. I don’t think the girl or boy would continue to listen to the sonnet after the line, “And in some perfumes is there more delight, Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” The second sonnet is far more elegant and soothing to the heart.
I think these two sonnets are similar because they both attempt to win the heart of somebody special. Although these two poems do it through different means, they were made to try to reach the same goal: the “Awwwwwww” from the girl.
I think these two sonnets are more different than similar. The first one depicts the flaws of a girl or a boy but has but then has a twist in the ending. The ending makes up for the mean things that were recited earlier because it explains that no matter how flawed you(being the person who is listening) are, I will still be there for you. The second poem is just sweet from the begining to the end. It just idolizes the special someone and gives that someone a sense of warmth.
I agree with Caitlin that it is very intersting how Shakespeare has mastered poetry to the extent where he can write love poems and comical poems in the same poem.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I choose the first sonet “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;”. It seemed more true and less flattering than the other. Although the second one does seem more poetic and more romantic it seems a little shallow. Its just saying that you’re beautiful and thats why i love you. The second one is deeper and leaves you to guess at what the full meaning is. I also like the second one because the person loves his mistress not because of her looks but because he loves her. Also I find the sonnet highly amusing and the fact that it seems a little crude makes it even more appealing.
The first sonnet is basically saying that his loved is not beautiful and cannot be compared to celestial objects because she is a normal person. Not fake or unreal but human. It also says that her looks are not the reason he loves her. It is instead because he loves her because he loves her.
The second sonnet seems much more Shakespearean. All lovey dovey and with fancy words. It compares the person to summer calling the person better than it because it contains its beauties but also lacks its flaws. This seems like something that is a little overexagerated and puts the person on a pedistal that must be hard to get off. I agree with Emily’s view that the person stays beautiful forever. I find this even ore fake and flawed because nobody stays beautiful forver, everyone ages (cept Benjamin Button).
May 11th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Now I’m reconsidering maybe I’ll choose the second one. Go with the flow, being a sheep isnt bad at all.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I chose to memorize the “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” because it seems like an authentic way of viewing the one you love. The person you love will not be perfect since hopefully the person you love will be a human being. I think this sonnet sees beyond the outward apperance and searches deeper inside the person. As Marnie wrote, recieving praise is more romantic than hearing the person you love tell you that “…the breath that from my mistress reeks.” However, if you step back and think about it, when someone tells you you’re perfect it’s a lie whether they were exagerating or not. I’d rather be told the truth than have their opinion sugar-coated, just tell it like it is. But that’s just me and my opinion. Although Shakespeare’s words were a bit harsh, they were actually more romantic to me than the other sonnet because he is saying ‘yes, you have flaws just like anyone else, but you are human and even with your flaws I still love you.’ IN this case he feels as though the imperfections do not hold him back from loving her. Instead he feels as though the imperfections make up the woman he loves and makes him love her even more because she’s “real”. Doesn’t the raw truth sound good now? =D
May 11th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
For my sonnet, I chose “my mistress’ eyes.” This sonnet struck me in class. I agree with Shakespeare because nobody is perfect. Throughout most of the sonnet, Shakespeare compares this woman to many things yet she is not as beautiful, gorgeous or radiant as any of them. Even though she might not be perfect, Shakespeare still loves her. The last two lines made the sonnet really romantic.
“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare-However, by heaven, my love is very special to me
As any she belied with false compare.”- As most women, she is doesn’t comply with these comparisons.
The sonnets are similar in many ways. Both are a Shakespearean sonnet, in which there are 14 lines (3 quatrains and one couplet) written in iambic pentameter. Each sonnet describes how rare, important and beautiful the woman is that Shakespeare talks about. The sonnets are both romantic. As Ms. Quinson said, both sonnets can be good pick-up lines. In each sonnet, Shakespeare uses dramatic comparisons to bring about important characteristics in each woman.
The sonnets are also different. Even though they are both romantic, they approach love in a different way. “Shall I compare thee” describes how this woman is more “lovely and temperate” than a summer day and, that she is so beautiful, Shakespeare will make her immortal. Shakespeare says this woman is better than a summer day because summer has rough winds that disturb buds, summer is too short and summer can be really hot. In the other sonnet, Shakespeare goes through a list of imperfections this woman has. She doesn’t have as radiant eyes as the sun, coral is redder than her lips, her cheeks don’t look lime roses, her breasts are dun, etc. Even though this woman has many flaws, Shakespeare says no woman is perfect and loves her. Shakespeare also says she is special and rare. In “Shall I compare thee” sonnet, the woman is better than the things she is compared to but in the other sonnet, the woman is worse than the things she is compared to.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I also like what Caitlin said about Shakespeare being able to intertwine romance with humor. Not only can he write tragedies, comedies and histories but now he can mix 2 genres in one sonnet?!?! This guy’s good! It showcases how good he his and why he is THE bard.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I am choosing the first one to memorize because I find it humorous, but true. I agree with Shakespeare that it would look pretty strange to have your mistress’ eyes as bright as the sun and natural bright red lips. It would also be weird to have skin as white as snow…wouldn’t you look dead? And plus, I don’t expect to recite this to one’s girlfriend/boyfriend. It’s just for fun. =]
These sonnets are similar because they are both related to love and romance (because that’s what Shakespeare writes about). They also compliment, but in two different ways. The second sonnet compliments very straight forward. But the first one SOUNDS as an insult, but once you get to the last lines you realize what William Shakespeare was trying to get at.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Oops, forgot to compare and contrast…
The two sonnets are similar because well, their both sonnets. But other than that they are also similar because in both he is professing his love to someone. Shakespeare compares the object of affection to nature in both sonnets and is charmingly romantic.
Though both romantic, Shakespeare goes about his goal of wooing this woman in a diiferent way for each sonnet. In the first sonnet, he seems to be disgracing the woman, but that’s not to say the love was not present. All the bashing was becoming painful to bear until the last couplet when he admits that he doesn’t even care for those flaws. So after all, it was still flattering. In the second sonnet, the romance was much more straight-forward and easier on the ears. Like Steven said, it was much more Shakespearean. This sonnet would’ve clearly recieved a standing ovation from that woman whereas the other one…he might’ve had to explain himself. As long as she understood though, I think their both representative of his love.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Ahhh! grammar mistake-their in the first and last sentence should be they’re.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I have selected the first sonnet. I think that this one is perfect and so true. Shakespeare was describing all of her flaws but at the end, he said “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.” This shows that her flaws are what make her perfect. I chose this one because well it shows that people do not look for beauty; they look at personality. He would not care how her cheeks looked like, or how she walked; it is what’s inside that matters most.
I am going to have to disagree with Darra when she said that the two sonnets are very similar. In my opinion, they are the exact opposites. The first sonnet is more realistic. I agree with Marnie because she stated that she would rather hear about personality and not appearance. That is what really counts. It might sound a bit weird but, I would rather be with some one who liked my flaws, then someone who just appreciates my hair and how it is “brighter than the sun. In fact, I would feel like a rare stone because nobody contains what I have. Every body is unique and special in their own ways and a person who values that is my kind of guy! I feel as if the second sonnet is SO unrealistic that it is false. Romeo and Juliet popped into my head when I read the second sonnet because I thought of “extreme love”. Romeo and Juliet loved each other so much, that it just did not work out. Perfection in my eyes is NEVER a good thing. I remember when we were reading short stories, we read about a little “perfect” girl who was eaten by a wolf. This story demonstrates that being a” goody two shoes” is not the best choice. This sonnet also reminded me of a fairytale because in fairytales, everything is always perfect and happy. However, life is never that good or ideal. Earlier, I said that it is a person’s flaw that makes them perfect. Well, in my point of view, the second one show’s that it is the perfection that makes it so screwed up. Just reading it is making me nod my head constantly because such nonsense does not ever occur. I mean, nothing is perfect. If you are perfect than might as well call yourself a god. It shows however Shakespeare’s personality of having an imagination because may be such a beautiful thing can occur in you dreams.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I am going to memorize the “shall I compare thee to a warm summer’s day” sonnet, because, I think that if I try to use the other one, the girl would probably slap me before I could finish. I doubt she’d enjoy me comparing her breasts to horses, saying her cheeks are nothing like roses, and contradicting all the romantic lubby dubbby nonsense people somehow find flattering. I mean, if you think about it, if your eyes were like the sun, they would burn all who they looked at, be so blinding no one could look at your face, and you’d be a lot like Medusa, who could kill with a look. And I don’t think many girls would take it as a compliment if I said they were like a snake haired monster who turns men to stone if they look upon her? The rose like cheeks would wither and die, and attract insects. And roses, are pretty wrinkly. Do you wan’t wrinkly cheeks?
I didn’t think so.
Who wants snow white shin anyway? Snow white skin to me, would seem sickly and more of a symptom of a hemoglobin deficiency or something. Yeah, your real pretty, whit those wrinkly cheeks under those freaky eyes that give people sunburns and blind everyone who looks at you, and that super pale skin! I bet you had like zero nanoseconds of sunlight in your life! Wow aren’t you lucky? I bet you’re the envy of all the girls in your school?
Maybe she’s born with it! Maybe it’s Maybelline! Oh wait no, she is just born with it… never mind, that’s actually pretty freaky yeah…
Point being said, even though the my mistresses eyes sonnet is much more complementing when taken literally, it’s probably not going to be seen that way by most women, so I’ll go with the flowery romantic slightly insulting in a literal sense one.
May 11th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
“Shall I compare thee to a summers day?” is the sonnet that I have chosen to memorize. I prefer this sonnet over the other because this one I think is more pleasant than the other one although the other one has a better rhyming couplet.
There are some things that are similar in both the sonnet although they do differ greatly. Both of the sonnets are in iambic pentameter. In the first one Shakespeare is telling how unpleasant his mistress is. He is telling all the negative stuff about her in relation to our senses and all the great things mentioned in the other sonnet. The second “Shall I compare thee to a summers day” is a totally different sonnet telling us how great and perfect Juliet is. It’s is saying that she compared to a summers day is so much better. For summer may be to hot, and go off too fast, and the sun might not be shining , but she without those mistakes is far better and greater than a summers day. In the end of the first sonnet Shakespeare is almost rebuking the second sonnet saying it is fantasy and although his mistress doth not compare to the women in the second sonnet, he loves her. She is only human and no one can be perfect. The similarity between the two is that they both refer to the senses relating to a woman and they both mention at least something good about the lady. The good mention of the mistress in the first sonnet is that he thinks his love as rare, though she still does not compare.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
I have chosen to memorize the second sonnet that Shakespeare wrote. I chose this because it has more of a nicer, romantic sense to it. Yes, one could argue that the first sonnet is more realistic but one must understand human nature. After all most people, male or female do not like it if someone wlaks up to them addresses all of their flaws and then sayd they still love them. In fact I think most of the people would have walked away from you after you recited the first two lines of the first sonnet. I agree with Justin when he says that reciting the first sonnet can be very risky unless the person you are saying it to is as understanding as you.
These sonnets are similar because they both try to acheive the same goal of letting your love know that you love them. Though they go about different ways of acheiving this goal nevertheless they both do.
The differences are that the first sonnet adresses more of a realistic view of a human being whereas the second one is much more far fetched.
Overall they are both very good sonnets because they help you understand what you want your love to be and what your love really is.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Both of the sonnets have a good meaning. But I personally like the 2nd one better. It seems more pure, and more interesting. Besides, if someone heard you say the first one, they could easily get offended. Especially if you forget the last two lines!!
Both of the sonnets are very similar. They both describe love, and how true someone really is. The first one describes how everyone is really like. Nobodys perfect, but your still above average. Thats really the key theme for both, that you are who you are. Another similarity is that they are both in iambic pentometer. This is because they are both Shakespeare’s work, and because they are both sonnets.
Both of these sonnets however are very different from each other. The first one can easily insult anyone if they interpret it wrong. The 2nd one however, is almost impossible to interpret as “bad”. It only describes good things, but the 2nd one at first only describes bad things. But in the end of the first one, Shakespeare changes everything when he states that you cant actually have lips like coral, etc. Another example is that the 2nd one is comparing that you are better than the sun, and not saying what you can be like unlike the first.
These two sonnets are both very alike and different at the same time.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
I decided to memorize the “summer day” one, and it makes me feel totally unoriginal because its one of if not the most famous Shakespearian sonnet. But the other really seems like one a man would say, so I’ll stick with the first.
The first thing I noticed about these sonnets was that they were both really meant to be read by men. There’s nothing wrong with a woman reading the second one, (anyone who knows me well knows I am a huge supporter of gay rights) and nothing wrong with a girl reading the first- but I think it comes across as a lot more romantic when a guy says it. Honestly I can’t see a guy swooning when a girl recites Shakespeare but I think most girls would.
I love the second sonnet and agree with our class agreement that that one showed more love than the first. The first sonnet, though beautiful and probably the preference for a girl to hear; is something that Romeo would whisper to Juliet. Though I still think that was true love- love also means loving even though your partner isn’t a supermodel. We shouldn’t love through our eyes- and the second sonnet displays that. It says that the woman he speaks of isn’t incredibly beautiful yet he loves her with a rare and special love. When you love someone they are beautiful- no matter what they look like. Like Marnie said- this one shows that love is more than appearance. It is mostly on personality.
The first, “summer’s day” sonnet is based solely on the woman’s beauty. She is obviously gorgeous, and that makes her apparently better than a summer’s day because her beauty lasts longer. But here I must make a reference to Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo talks of Rosaline, saying:
O, she is rich in beauty, only poor,
That when she dies with beauty dies her store.
We know that with age beauty gradually fades; you are not going to look 20 when you are 97. But whether or not this poem makes light of only beauty, it is a very beautiful one.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
For memorization I chose the first poem, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” because I find it easier for me to believe it. I mean come on, nobody is that perfect. Even Titania, the queen of the fairies had her own flaws in A Midsummer Night’s Dream! Now like Ms.Quinson says, we are just a pair of smarty-pants. Suppose somebody comes up in the somewhat vague future and recites one of these sonnets to us, I would definitely fall for the person that would recite to me the second sonnet. This I would do for various reasons. One is because I found this poem far more realistic than “shall I compare thee to a summers day?” As I was reading some blogs that were posted early, I read that many people were fond of the second poem because they found it more romantic. That is what I thought too… in class. I even started on memorizing the second sonnet, and then I realized, life is not that perfect. Just because it has a couple of bumps here and there does not mean that it is not to be liked, and that it is the same with a human being. I came to realize some time ago that no matter how hard you try to be, you could never be perfect, and it is probably those flaws that build up your character in the eyes of somebody special. I also grasped the fact that smart kids like us are too hard too fool. We know the difference between true love and feign love. The second sonnet just goes around the idea that “Oh, the sun is not worthy of being compared to you”… and you get the point. The person being loved has got to get tired of that sooner or later, but if you get started of with the first sonnet, you will really know that the lover really loves you, and that even though you have flaws, you are perfect just the way you are.J
Now, lets tackle similarities and differences. To be truthful, both sonnets have a large array of similarities and differences. Some similarities are the physical properties such as they are both made up of fourteen line, three quatrains and a couplet, and that they are both written in iambi pentameter. They also share the rhyme scheme of AB AB CD CD EF EF GG. Both sonnets are also looking to win over the hearts of someone. Shakespeare also uses contrasting characteristics to really bring out the unique feature, whether it is one or many! Weird, both sonnets are almost like foils!
Although, I do find that there are more differences than similarities. The obvious difference is that the first sonnet is not written to impress the average girl out there. It is meant to impress somebody that you really, truly do love, and if that girl really does love you, then she would really understand the true meaning of the sonnet, and she really would be impressed. Another major difference is that in the first sonnet, Shakespeare emphasizes they negative aspects, but goes on to say that no matter how many flaws she has, she will still be loved. Whereas the second sonnet emphasizes the positive traits, but she is still loved.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
That J towards the end of my first paragraph sjould have been a smiley face. I guess it does not pick up word symbols!
May 11th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
The frowney face works?
May 11th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Gee, I thought more people would choose the first sonnet. Well, I decided I would also memorize the “my mistress’ eyes” sonnet because it seems more realistic and about truer love to me. The “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” sonnet is about perfections, and after all, nobody is perfect. The first sonnet is actually a better compliment because Shakespeare loves his mistress even though her lips aren’t red and her breasts aren’t as white as snow. I also think of Shakespeare’s unconventional approach as all the more romantic.
These sonnets are similar in that they are both about love and praise the wo/man spoken of, they are both 14 lines written in iambic pentameter, and they both use dramatic comparisons to describe the value and rarity of the subject described. However, they are very different in style, approach, and the kind of love described. In the first sonnet, Shakespeare described his mistress’ flaws: her eyes are not as bright as the sun, her lips are not as red as coral, her breasts are dun-colored, her hair is like wires, she does not have rosy cheeks, her breath reeks, etc. Then, in classic Shakespearean style, he added a twist in the final couplet. He thinks of his love as rare and valuable as any woman misrepresented by false comparisons. In contrast, the second poem praises perfections, portraying the wo/man as lovelier than a summer day. Shakespeare mentions that the summer is windy, hot, and passes by too quickly, but his love shall never be forgotten. He has made his love immortal through the sonnet itself.
The first poem is more about reality and true love, not fantasized, near-perfect love. And, although the second sonnet seems far sweeter initially, the first sonnet is truly more beautiful behind Shakespeare’s ugly words. Romantic poems that simply praise the subject are so cliche and not real. Love is about accepting the other’s imperfections and loving them despite their dun-colored breasts or wiry hair.
I also agree with Caitlin that it’s amazing Shakespeare can make a poem so comical yet so romantic at the same time.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
oh, now i get it!
May 11th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I chose to memorize the second sonnet, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” This sonnet, over the other, seems to have more meaning and to be something good to impress people with when we mature and start dating. Memorizing this for me isn’t going to be the easiest thing, but then again how hard can it be? First I’d like to translate this sonnet:
Shall I compare you to a summer’s day? You are more lovely and pleasant: coarse winds do disturb the delicate buds of May, and the days of summer do not last long enough; Sometimes it is too hot in the summer, and its sunshine is often dimmed by the clouds. No beautiful thing will last very long, due to the experiences they’ve gone through in their life. But you, your beauty won’t go away, and you shall never die, as long as this sonnet lives, so will you. As long as men live to read poems including this one, you will live as well.
To me, this poem, even though it is short, has a lot of meaning and is very deep. One reason I chose this sonnet over the other is that this one focuses mainly on the good qualities and says how good the person is while the other one merely says a lot of bad things and focuses more on the flaws. This poem is saying how a woman is as brilliant as summer, but is better than summer because she lasts more than a couple of months, while the first sonnet is saying how the mistress is NOTHING like the sun and how her lips aren’t red enough, but worst of all how her breath reeks! I mean, imagine being on a date and telling someone their breath reeks…they would probably get up and leave before you could finish reciting the sonnet. Also, in the first sonnet, I don’t like how Shakespeare attempted to make it humorous because it’s supposed to be romantic and not really a funny thing to talk about.
The sonnets are similar because they are both speaking of the qualities of a woman. They both try to catch the attention and love of another person by saying how amazing they are and giving that person compliments all throughout the sonnet. I like how Steven says that in each sonnet Shakespeare uses dramatic comparisons to bring about important characteristics in each woman because that is a great sentence to summarize what the sonnets are really saying.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I admire all of you who choose to stand out from the crowd and choose the first sonnet to memorize. But… I think I’m going to choose the second one; the one that begins: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day…
I think this one is a bit more romantic. Everyone says that the “my mistress” one is, and in a sense, I agree. Once one analyzes the whole meaning, it really is more kind and loving towards the lady. But, what girl is going to stand and wait to listen until the end? Once she hears him insulting her eyes, lips, and other things, she’ll be too irritated to stick around for the whole meaning. That is a point Justin made that I would like to acknowledge. Additionally, being a girl, I think I know which I would react better to. I still love the whole message about loving small imperfections, and how it is those flaws that show no one is perfect. I think that in a way, Shakespeare is mocking the odd perfection of Juliet in the first sonnet. Nobody’s perfect.
BUT, (there’s always a but) for some reason, I like the way the summer’s day sonnet sounds. Smothering a girl with compliments is one way to soften her up. It’s just the way each word beautifully unravels. He is comparing the youth to a summer’s day. While summer quickly fades away, the beauty of that person remains immortal. All the lovely things that disappear after summer’s end are made up for by this person’s beauty.
His giving this immense kind of power to one person indicates the admiration and flattery that is occurring within the words of this sonnet. I also think it’s the way Shakespeare just tells everything that makes it so appealing to listen to. It’s like, we already know he’s droning on about someone, but we still want to hear what and how he says things. It’s just the way he talks! It is so… delightfully pleasing.
Also, as Leila mentioned, the second one is pretty well known. I just thought that if I recited something some people can recognize, it would make it all the more special.
Ben, your bold and outright argument made me LOL. Ha. “lol” ….Okay I’ll stop with my nerdish comments.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I am choosing “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” for a number of reasons. The first and most fool-hearty reason is because I already know the first line by heart. Most people have heard it before. That’s 1/14 less work, no? Secondly I think it is all together a more beautiful poem. While “my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” may be an excellent piece of work, it doesn’t have the same elegance that “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” has. It lacks the high and mighty comparisons to nature’s greatest beauties that the second sonnet has all over. But then again, maybe that is a good thing for the first poem. It’s greatness is without such elegance, straying from the typical “I love you because you’re the greatest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on in my life!!!” path.
Between the two poems, both make comparisons throughout their lines. All of these comparisons are to (presumably) a woman who Shakespeare has fallen for, but they make their comparisons in very different ways. Where the first sonnet compares Shakespeare’s ladylove to things ordinary and proves his lady to be less beautiful than these things, the first poem, as I said before, compares the woman to what were then (and maybe what still are) the most beautiful things in the world, making her seem unnatural, goddess-like, and flawless. The first poem is much more realistic, and has an excellent twist on the end. The second is less so, and is more straightforward.
With the two conflicting viewpoints expressed in these poems, one wonders what Shakespeare actually thought of the women he dated. Was he a Romeo, a character straight from his plays, who make statements like the ones in the second poem? Or did he have the more realistic view of women, that they are people with flaws, like anyone else? How could he play both roles in his poems so convincingly?
May 11th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Gah! Mine got cut off.
Well, I was going to say that they are both quite flattering. Both display a great deal of affection. Underneath the first sonnet’s funny comparisons, there is en element of admiration on Shakespeare’s part. He loves this woman for her imperfections.
But, the second one is direct and obvious. One does not have to do much digging to figure out what the intention is.
The approaches are different, but the affections are the same.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
I’m planning on memorizing the first sonnet. I tend to remember negative things being said rather than positive ones, to be truthful and I like things to usually have a twist. I also like it because it doesn’t really sound like one’s a kiss-up that only says nice things to the one they’re in love with or have a huge crush on. It’s kinda like saying “I dislike people with brown hair” when the person’s crush has brown hair. “He/she looks cute with it, so it’s okay.” Psh…
These poems are both similar in the sense that they both involve love. The first describes how hideous the woman is, but how much he loves her too as to the second, that describes both the woman’s beauty and how much the person seems to love them.
It’s easier to really point out the differences than similarities. I would find the first sonnet to be more realistic than the second, which I find too overly dramatic, which I would find to be a HUGE turn-off. Love, but not too much, or else you’re just going to sound like a psycho in my opinion. The second one is more of a “don’t judge a book by its cover” kind of idea. To be truthful, I think that I would be flattered to have the first sonnet read to me than the second. I don’t see myself as a goddess, so why should others? I’m happy that Shakespeare was able to get that idea through his writing. It kind of contrasts with Romeo and Juliet since Juliet and Rosaline were said to be breath-taking.
Dev-o’s so right. His love for her (first sonnet) is so much more sincere than in the second.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
I adore the first sonnet: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;” I think that it’s more real for me, and even though its more practical then the second one, I think that it’s more romantic. The second sonnet praises the person while the second one is saying that their loved isn’t the prettiest most delicate thing out there, but she’s real and he loves her. I’ve heard too much of the praising thing in Romeo and Juliet and although it’s beautiful, it never really happens in real life anymore. The first sonnet sounded like an insult at first, but it was actually beautiful because it shows that love isn’t about the beauty of a person’s skin but of their soul and I think that’s amazing.
I think that maggie brought up an interesing point when she said that this seems like it was written for men to say. Whenever I see poems like this I immediately think that men are the ones saying it, but I never really realize that women can say it too, and it’s still as meaningful! But in Shakespeare days, the men were using these lines to swoon women.
I don’t think that there’s more love in the second sonnet then the first. The second sonnet is saying how great the person is and how lovely they are. I don’t see these compliments as love as much as I see the first sonnet of love. My point is, just because the second sonnet is saying how their lover is so beautiful and amazing doesn’t mean that it’s showing more love then saying that you love an ordinary girl, but you don’t care that she’s ordinary because love is far beyond that. This is why I adore the first sonnet and I’m choosing to memorize that one!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Hmmm…I had a hard time choosing between the two sonnets, but I’ve made my decision. I chose to memorize the “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” sonnet. Although it is not pragmatic in addressing the true qualities of the beloved like the “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” sonnet, I find this sonnet more enjoyable (the other sonnet is a little too comical for my taste). The “summer day” sonnet is more sincere in showing the author’s love because of its comparison of his/her love to pleasant, blissful things like summer days. I agree with Matt that anyone could misinterpret the other sonnet and take it as an insult (I personally would, to be honest. I mean, without seriously analyzing it, who wouldn’t? It’s like hearing your lover say that (s)he loves you even though you are ugly).
Even though the “summer day” sonnet might look like a clichéd, run-of-the-mill love poem, it show the true beauty of Shakespeare’s poetry. Comparing the two sonnets is like comparing the Nurse to Juliet.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
After English, I realized that I had the first line, ” Shall I compare thee with a summer’s day?” stuck in my head. I decided to choose that sonnet as the one I would memorize. I believe it is more romantic and elegant than the other. That’s not to say that the other isn’t a great sonnet. It is great and I liked hearing Mrs. Quinson read it. It’s much more truthful. Shakespeare is saying that the person has many flaws, or she/he is just simply not perfect. But those flaws are the things that make that person. It’s much more realistic. Nobody’s perfect.The first sonnet(the one about a summer day) seems that Shakespeare is showering that person with compliments. I love summer so incredibly much that the person must be amazing to be better than a summer day.
I agree with Emilia. I would much rather hear a person telling me about my prefections and positives than my flaws. Even though both are affectionate towards the person, most people would rather be complimented that insulted. I think the only thing similar in both sonnets is that the reader is telling the listener how much he/she loves her/him.I also was thinking the exact same thing as Maggie- Romeo would definitely say the summer sonnet Juliet. I mean, he’s already told her that her eyes are like beautiful suns.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:17 am
It took me quite a while to chose between these two sonnets. However, I have finally decided to recite the second one.
First off, as a girl, I think the second poem is much more romantic and idealistic. It certainly shows the true and beautiful qualities of someone you love. This sonnet displays the flawless characteristics in an individual- It presents the fact that a person is too admirable and special to be compared with anything else in this universe.
However, I believe the 1st sonnet seems to also have a deep meaning. Of course it’s not a type poem you would recite on your proposal or on your first date, but it is extraordinarily poignant and moving. Rather than the 2nd sonnet, the first one definitely seems to stress the flaws of an individual. However at the end, it states that the flaws that make up this individual allow her to be unique and beautiful in her own way.
Both poems have such a deep and emotional importance behind it. However, the 2nd one seems to be a better choice of reciting to the person you love. Many people may feel startled or insulted at first when hearing the “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” sonnet. They might not take the time to consider the real denotation or significance behind it. However, Shakespeare’s purpose in making these two lovely poems is to depict the true sense of love. Through the 1st sonnet, he seems to show that love has no flaws, for it is admirable and beautiful the way it is. On the other hand, Shakespeare seems to show flaws in an individual through the 2nd sonnet, for he wants to present that the unique characteristics in an individual is what makes her so special.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:15 am
I decided to memorize the “Summer’s Day” sonnet. Both sonnets, being written by Shakespeare, have the same style. However, they are very different, not in ideas, rather in how those ideas are portrayed. They both relate to love. The “Summer’s Day” sonnet relates love as being better than summer. I picture it as one of those perfect summer days when it is not that hot, yet the sun is out and there is a slight breeze that cools you off. The butterflies flying off in the distance and flowers all fully bloomed. The poem is saying that this is love, but love is forever unlike the summer. The other sonnet shows that nobody is perfect. I think it is saying that a person loves his mistress’s flaws; that her imperfections make her more human and real. Like many people stated, nobody is perfect. Even though no one is perfect, people fall in love with some other imperfect person.
I agree with Emilia: if a guy ever started reciting this poem from the very beginning to me at a party, I would get really mad and run away. I would never stay and listen until the end! Like Lauren said, some girls who are not as educated as us and have not read this poem (: might get very insulted. However, since I now know this poem, if my future boyfriend (LOL, I just found this funny) was to repeat these lines to me, I would be totally captivated and know that I picked a smart one! Haha! I picked to memorize the first one since it is beautiful from the beginning. “Thou art more lovely and more temperate:” I like the feeling of the flow throughout the poem.
May 13th, 2009 at 9:22 am
I chose to memorize the first sonnet, “My Mistress’ eyes”. I think that this one sounds better, and an educated person would realize that this is actually a compliment. I realize that most people would, as Justin said, stop listening after the first line or two, but I still like it better.
These two sonnets are similar in the way that the point is to compliment someone that you like. They are both pretty complimenting if you read and understand them, otherwise the first one could sound a little bit insulting, even though in actuality, I think it is more of a compliment than the second one.
These two sonnets both have their differences as well as their similarities. In the first one, it is telling the woman that she is not perfect, but that does not mean she is not extremely beautiful. This is shown with the last couplet where he says, “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare.” The second one sounds nicer upon first hearing it, but it is really just saying that because of this poem, you shall live forever in people’s thoughts.
I agree with Lauren that it depicts the true sense of love. In the first one, he says that she is not perfect, but he loves her anyway. For that reason he loves her, not because of her beauty.