LINE 1

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;

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Mistress – this was a more general reference meaning "my love" or "my darling", and not as would use the term today. When we use the word "mistress," it's usually to refer to a woman who is dating a married man.

When Shakespeare was writing this sonnet it was all the rage to compare a lover's eyes to the sun and sunlight—Shakespeare completely negates this, using the phrase 'nothing like' to emphasise the fact that this female's eyes are not bright. In this simile, the mistress’ eyes are being compared to the sun. The sun creates the image of something bright and shiny. However, since the mistress’ eyes are “nothing” like sun, her eyes are the opposite of bright and shiny. The speaker’s use of the simile indicates that the woman’s eyes are just plain and ordinary or nothing special.

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LINE 2

Coral is far more red, than her lips red:

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Coral – a hard stony substance, typically forming large reefs in warm seas. Known for its bright red or pink colour. This was the perfect colour for the perfect female.

Her lips are not as red as coral; there is nothing special about the colour of her lips. She has ordinary lips.

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LINE 3

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

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Dun – a dull, greyish-brown colour

At that time, it was a huge compliment to have your skin compared to snow. His mistress has a dull complexion. “Dun” is a word often used to describe the colour of a horse, and not something a woman would be thrilled to hear about. It makes her sound ugly.

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LINE 4

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

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Hair was often compared to golden thread. This metaphor compares her hair to black wires. It is not soft and flowing, but hard and spiky. She has frizzy black hair. The W-alliteration emphasises that she is not perfect.

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LINES 5-6

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

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Damasked – a pattern of mixed colours.

He has seen beautiful roses in damask (pinkish colour), red and white, but his mistress’s cheeks don’t remind him of them at all. He sees no such roses (colour) in his mistress’s cheeks: Her cheeks are pale. This emphasises that his mistress is not the perfect female model.

 

LINES 7-8

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

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reeks – a very strong, unpleasant smell

Some perfumes are far more fragrant than the smell of her breath. This is deliberately shocking and offensive, to emphasise that she is just an ordinary person, she is human.

This idea of her being an ordinary person, and not a goddess, is further explained in lines 11-12

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LINES 9-10

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know

That music hath a far more pleasing sound:

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He admits that he would love to hear her speak, but the sound of music is better than the sound of her voice.

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LINES 11-12

I grant I never saw a goddess go,

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:

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Treads on the ground – she is not very graceful when she walks.

He admits that he had never seen a goddess move. She is not a goddess that floats or glides when she walks. She is a very real person who is just an average human being.

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LINES 13-14

And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,

As any she belied with false compare.

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And – introduces a change

yet, by heaven – He denies that she possesses any heavenly qualities, yet he swears by heaven that his love is sincere.

The speaker thinks that his mistress is as wonderful and unique ("rare") as any woman ("any she") who was ever misrepresented ("belied") by an exaggerated comparison ("false compare").

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The couplet drives home the speaker's main point, that unlike other people who write sonnets, he doesn't need flowery terms or fancy comparisons. He can just tell his mistress, plainly and simply, that he loves her for who she is. He embraces her flaws. He loves her just the way she is.