What is the language used by the persona?
The language used by the persona is mainly informal as he talks about the things that he dislikes about his wife easily and conversationally. There is no sign of polite language being used in the poem.
What does he value/praise his mistress for?
He values his mistress for the love that they share even though the persona in the poem does not like the way the mistress looks. We are shown this value in the last two lines where he says “And yet, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare.”
Are any ordinary phrases – clichés used?
The persona has turned ordinary phrases into negative phrases in the poem to show that the mistress has bad looks. For instance instead of saying “her lips are far more red than coral” the persona has said “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red.”
Are there any relationships or mention of love?
The only relationship that is evident in the poem is the relationship between the persona and his mistress. There is a strong love shared between the mistress and the persona. We can see this from the fact that the persona seems to sound fussy.
What is the satire of the poem?
The satire of the poem is that looks do not matter as is shown by the persona saying that it does not matter if his mistress does not look good.
What is the use of the sonnet form?
A sonnet nearly always has clichés and that is a key feature of this poem. Each line has been used by the persona as a cliché or a build up to a cliché.
What is the use of structure: three quatrains?
The three quatrains all have sentences of five beats. This shows us this poem is a sonnet.
What is the sequencing of the sections?
The sonnet is divided up into two sections – the first negative section and the second positive section. From the points given in the first section we can see that it easily outweighs the points given in the second section. However the persona knows that the love that they share easily outweighs the negative part of the poem. It is sequenced in this way to show us that love easily outweighs looks.
What is the way that the argument develops?
The argument goes from creating a negative impression on the audience to the positive part of the argument which shows that the love is more important that the looks. The negative impression is created by the negative clichés that have been placed in the first part of the poem.
What is the effect of the rhyme scheme?
The rhyme scheme in the first section is A,BA,B,C,D,C,D,E,F,E,F and in the second section is G,G. the effect of the change in the rhyme scheme shows us how that there is a change in the sections. It also changes the pace of the poem by placing the rhyming couplets closer.
What are the possible meanings of the final couplets?
The persona tells us that he is happy with what he shares with his mistress. He feels that even though she does not have the looks that he wants he still loves her.
What is your response to the speaker of the poem?
The speaker of the poem has made his feelings about his mistress public. However it would be very bad if it became known to his mistress that he had made the statements in public about her. This tells us that the speaker of the poem is brave.
