3. Sonnet130
by William Shakespeare
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.
4. Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
I liked this poem because it is
realistic and unusual. The
author is obviously in love with
the lady who is describing. But
instead of saying how perfect
she is, how beautiful she
looks, he stands out her flaws.
But in the end he loves her all
the same.
For me this picture represents
the ideas that appear in the
poem because I consider that
the women in the picture are
not perfect in their aspect,
they are ordinary women but
they seem to be happy and
pleased with themselves and
they are one of a kind. And
this is how I imagine the
woman in the poem and how
her lover makes her feel. The
author makes her feel unique
and loved.
5. Sonnet 15 from Amoretti
by Edmund Spenser
Ye tradeful merchants, that will weary toil
Do seek most precious things to make your gain;
And both the Indias of their treasure spoil;
What needeth you to seek so far in vain?
For lo, my love doth in herself contain
All this world’s riches that may far be found:
If sapphires, lo, her eyes be sapphires plain;
If rubies, lo, her lips be rubies sound;
If pearls, her teeth be pearls, both pure and round;
If ivory her forehead ivory ween;
If gold, her locks are finest gold on ground;
If silver, her fair hands are silver sheen:
But that which is fairest is, but few behold,
Her mind adorned with virtues manifold
6. Sonnet 15 from Amoretti by Edmund Spenser
This poem is the other side of
the same coin. As opposed to
the previous one, in this case
the author uses simile and
hyperbole to describe how
beautiful his lady is. This
poem is more usual since
there are many poems in this
period that describe women
as perfect.
I’ve chosen a picture of a
perfect princess to illustrate
the lady described in the
sonnet. But I’ve also included
a picture of a man reciting a
poem. I think that the face of
the man shows how much in
love he is, and I believe that
Spencer was very much in
love when he wrote this.
7. The wife of Bath (fragment)
by Geoffrey Chaucer
"Two choices," said she, "which one will "Then have I got of you the mastery,
you try,
Since I may choose and govern, in earnest?"
To have me foul and old until I die,
"Yes, truly, wife," said he, "I hold that best."
And be to you a true and humble wife,
"Kiss me," said she, "we'll be no longer wroth,
And never anger you in all my life;
For by my truth, to you I will be both;
Or else to have me young and very fair
That is to say, I'll be both good and fair.
And take your chance with those who
will repair I pray God I go mad, and so declare,
Unto your house, and all because of If I be not to you as good and true
me, As ever wife was since the world was new.
Or in some other place, as well may be. And, save I be, at dawn, as fairly seen
Now choose which you like better and As any lady, empress, or great queen
reply." That is between the east and the far west,
This knight considered, and did sorely Do with my life and death as you like best.
sigh, Throw back the curtain and see how it is."
But at the last replied as you shall hear:
"My lady and my love, and wife so dear,
I put myself in your wise governing;
Do you choose which may be the more
pleasing,
And bring most honour to you, and me
also.
I care not which it be of these things
two;
8. The wife of Bath (fragment) by Geoffrey Chaucer
I have chosen this extract of the Wife of Bath
Tale because as the previous two poems the
fragment is still talking about how women
look. But in this case there are differences
since, first of all, it is a woman the one who is
talking about appearances, and secondly
there is an unexpected outcome. I think this
fragment has a moral: not always what you
see is what you get, and you cannot judge
people by their appearances, because
sometimes they may hide an internal beauty
that may surprise you.
To represent the idea that not always what
you see is what you get I’ve chosen two
different pictures. On the one hand, a very
beautiful woman in front of the mirror, she
may be attractive to see, but she may be
awful as a person. On the other hand Susan
Boyle, she surprised everyone with her
stunning voice but at first nobody expected
anything from her because how she looked.
Finally to represent the idea of changing
appearances and the fact that you cannot
“judge a book by its cover” I included Princess
Fiona. Although she had the chance to be
gorgeous, she changed for love. And Even
though some people considered her ugly, she
was the perfect match for Shrek, who loved
her no matter which aspect she had.
9. My conclusion
I believe that the three poems are related and different at the same time. They are
similar because the three of them talk about women’s appearance. They are different
because each author has his own style and is trying to cause different effects on the
reader. But all of them are taking love into account.
I really enjoyed doing this activity because it gave me the chance to see the same
themes from different perspectives.
