1. With a little help from Shakespeare
Analyzing Poetry
With a little help from Shakespeare
Don’t trip, fam! I’ll break it down step by step.

2. Poetry can be analyzed and interpreted in many different ways, but no matter what critical theory you’re using, a few basic elements will always be relevant. Formal Elements: rhyme, meter, repetition, figurative language Content Element: character, POV, setting, conflict, theme, tone, etc. Whenever you start analyzing a poem, focus on the text itself and ignore information about the author or time-period.
I wrote this in the early 1600s, but that won’t necessarily help you explain what my poem “means” or “how” it creates that meaning.

3. My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (Sonnet 130) William Shakespeare – Formal Elements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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 damasked, 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.
Sun
Red
Dun
Head
White
Cheeks
Delight
Reeks
Know
Sound Go
Ground
Rare
Compare A B C D E F G
x/ x/ x/ x/ x/
x/ x/* x/ x/ x/
“like the sun” is a simile
“black wires” is metaphor
“damasked” = decorated, and example of personification
Here are some examples of figurative language
Here’s the rhyme scheme
Here’s the poem itself
This is the meter:
Unstressed = x
Stressed = /

4. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (Sonnet 130) William Shakespeare – Content
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 damasked, 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.
Using images from nature to compare traditionally beautiful things to the less beautiful features of his Mistress
“dun” means “a dull, grayish-brown color”
“damasked” means “decorated”
Now using the sense of smell
Using a very strong negative word, “reeks”
Now using sound
Now comparing her to a goddess
The final comparison is less severe, suggesting a change
Finally, explaining that he loves her anyway, and even suggests that the things he used previously as comparison are never used accurately when describing any human being
Summary: my lover may not match hyperbolic definitions of beauty, but I find her “rare” or beautiful and valuable anyway; on top of that, anyone comparing their lover to the “sun” or “roses” is full of shit.

5. “dun” means “a dull, grayish-brown color” “damasked” means “decorated”
“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (Sonnet 130) William Shakespeare – Form and Content Together 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Sun
Red
Dun
Head
White
Cheeks
Delight
Reeks
Know
Sound Go
Ground
Rare
Compare
x/ x/ x/ x/ x/
x/ x/* x/ x/ x/
Using images from nature to compare traditionally beautiful things to the less beautiful features of his Mistress
“dun” means “a dull, grayish-brown color”
“damasked” means “decorated”
Now using the sense of smell
Using a very strong negative word, “reeks”
Now using sound
Now comparing her to a goddess
The final comparison is less severe, suggesting a change
Finally, explaining that he loves her anyway, and even suggests that the things he used previously as comparison are never used accurately when describing any human being
Rhyme ties poem together in segments of 4 lines with alternating rhyme,
The rhyme and the meter create a increased emphasis on the last word of each line
Regular nature of the meter and the rhyme suggest harmony and natural authority
The “Volta” where the final lines break the previous rhyme scheme, signifies the thesis, or judgement, of the speaker

6. This is just one example; you might interpret each of these elements differently and still come up with a strong analysis (I didn’t even go into repetition this time!).