Shakespeare Comparison

In the poems "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" and "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun", William Shakespeare compares his loved ones to nature. He uses natural elements in order to show that nature is superior to human beings. However, the poet comes to the conclusion that despite the fact

that nature is more perfect than human beings, he loves his lovers more than nature for the unique qualities that human beings have over nature.

Already from the titles of the poems, one can notice that nature is superior to humankind. In the poem "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" the reader can assume that the writer thinks that the sun is more beautiful and is better than his mistress' eyes. The sun is a symbol of happiness and the joy

of life. When the writer sees the sun's rays it gives him joy. By saying that his mistress' eyes do not look like the sun it means that when he looks at her

eyes she does not reflect happiness or joy. Her eyes do not shine like the sun. The nature appears more powerful than humankind.

In the title of the poem "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?", Shakespeare is debating whether or not his love one is worth being compare to a summer day. Unlike the first poem, the poet does not know what the answer is from the title or whether it is fair to compare nature to her. However, as the

reader read through the poem he gets an answer from the poet. Just the thought whether his loved one is worth being compared to nature gives away the poet's

assumption that nature is superior to humankind.

Throughout all the poem "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun",

Shakespeare shows how nature is better than his loved one by comparing nature and his mistress. He shows all the great things of nature and all the faults of humans. For instance, he shows how colorful and lovely the colors of the roses are but his lover does not seem to have this colors on her cheeks. "I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, / but no such roses see I in her cheeks." (lines 5-6) To show the perfection of nature, Shakespeare compares the color of snow

to the color of his mistress breasts. He wonders why the color of her breasts are grayish- brown if the color of the snow is white, "If snow be white, why

then her breasts are dun;" ( line 3). Nature can make snow to be white, which is a perfect color where human colors are not so perfect, and therefore nature again is appeared to be more superior than human beings. Shakespeare also compares his mistress' lips to coral. He thinks that her lips are not as red as a coral is. "Coral is far more red than her lips' red" ( line 2). Coral color is a very bright red. He suggests that his mistress' lips do not have the bright red color that coral has. Once again Shakespeare shows humankind faults, and nature's perfection.

Shakespeare uses the summer season as a natural element in order to compare his lover to it in the poem "Shall I Compare Thee To a Summer Day?". He

is not sure whether or not his lover is like summer's day. According to Shakespeare, life pass fast like summer. Before you know it summer and life are over. As the summer gets to its end, you can feel the cold air and the change from summer to fall. The same is with life. As life gets to the end the person is physically changes, and he can feel the end. However, Shakespeare believes that his loved one beauty is for eternity. She will remain beautiful forever. "And every fair from fair sometimes declines, / by chance or nature's changing course untrimmed; / But the eternal summer shall not fade, / nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;"