through their entire lives only dreaming of feeling that kind of love and having someone love them to the extent of Browning’s poem. Although Browning’s poem is a wonderful fantasy, the standard that it sets is too high for most people to reach. She doesn’t mention anything about what the relationship is like on a day to day basis, nor does she say anything about how her love feels about her. The poem could very well be written to someone who doesn’t return her feelings or it could even be written to someone that she doesn’t love in a romantic way. It all depends on how the reader interprets the poem. When viewed in this light, Browning’s traditional love poem is no longer traditional. It can even be seen as rather ridiculous, the belief that anything, even love, can be as perfect and complete as she describes. Shakespeare’s poem is much more realistic and in many ways, sweeter and more romantic. The poem is intended to be a satire of the typical love poem, yet still depicts his love for his mistress. He basically states that she isn’t beautiful or charming, but he loves her still. Upon first reading this poem, one might think that Shakespeare is attempting to be cruel; however, his true intent is revealed in the last two lines when he states “I think my love as rare...As any she belied with false compare.”(lines 13-14) This is a much more understandable and acceptable approach to describing love. He is proving that a woman’s beauty, voice, and charm aren’t what make her worthy of being loved. He accepts that fact that many other men may not think much of his mistress, but that doesn’t concern him. He loves her for reasons that they probably wouldn’t understand. Most of the love sonnets written during Shakespeare’s time only describe the beauty of the poets’ lovers. He is attempting and succeeding in making these other poets ...
