My Mistress' Eyes
By: William Shakespeare

In this poem, the narrator has an odd way of describing his love's beauty.  While most would assume that the woman would be receiving positive compliments, the narrator actually does the complete opposite.  "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (Shakespeare) is the opening line of the poem.  How sweet...  In addition to this, the narrator continues on with these "compliments."  He says that her breath stinks, music is more pleasing to listen to than her voice, she treads when she walks, etc.  If I were the woman he were talking about, I would be completely insulted!  Any time he starts to say a compliment, he compares her to something else and says she is less perfect than that.  In the couplet, though, the narrator brings up an interesting point.  "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare" (Shakespeare).  Here, the narrator is claiming that his love for this woman is unique.  He says that it is so unique that it can't be compared to anyone else's love.  I find this to be very interesting, considering he basically wrote a poem of insults about her.