The two poems that stand out in this chapter are "She walks in Beauty" and "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun." These contrast each other greatly while still broaching the subject of love, and actually demonstrating similar themes. The first poem, "She walks in Beauty," uses positive images and delicate phrases to describe this man's love. She is innocent and beautiful, easy to fall in love with. Byron uses dainty and lighthearted wording throughout, contributing to the poem's innocent tone: softly, eloquent, serenely, and peace are just a couple of examples. The light nature of the poem brought about by these words shows how simple and easy it is for the man to fall in love with this beautiful woman.
Comparatively, Shakespeare's description of his love is not delicate or dainty, but rather harsh and blatant. He compares her against the sun, coral, and snow, portraying her almost negatively had it not been for the professions of his love. However, the readers do not even know whether he loves her until most of the poem is through (line 9). Shakespeare shows that despite her supposed faults, he can still love her, still "think [his] love as rare." While the first poem discussed how simple it was to love Byron's beautiful woman, Shakespeare argues that it wouldn't be apparent to love his mistress, but he does anyway. That love still comes to him.
I suppose my own response to these poems would sort of depend on who I was in love with. I think I might tend to favor Shakespeare, just because it's much more real. Love is not simple, not easy, like falling onto a cloud or something. It is not always innocent, as Byron states, but rather difficult. Sometimes you might love someone who has their faults, their quirks and troubles. Acknowledging, not ignoring, those attributes and still being able to love a person is what's important.
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