Gender Unit 4

My Misstress' Eyes
William Shakespeare

In My Mistress' Eyes, Shakespeare negates the idea of having a mistress whom one can truly love. The way in which the speaker describes the mistress suggests that he does not think highly of her. The speaker is using the mistress solely for personal pleasure. He says that his "mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"(Shakespeare, 885). This shows that the speaker does not think highly of his mistress at all. In fact, he looks down at her. When he describes desriable qualities of his mistress as undesirable. He criticizes her eyes, lips, and hair. All of the qualities that make women particularly unique are not seen as significant or speical to the speaker. Perhaps the speaker views the mistress negatively because she is willing to be viewed easily as an object to men. He ultimately says that the way in which his mistress carries herself is not becoming of a proper lady.