Animal Farm

Full, Non Cut-Off Version

Poetry Out Loud Performances

Okay, so I watched "Sonnet CXXX My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun", by William Shakespeare, performed by Allison Strong. Her physical presence was really great, but her voice and articulation was amazing. Well, not amazing. How can someone who is reciting poems be amazing? I'll say it's... very good. Yep. She articulated the words crisp and clearly. You could obviously tell she actually got the meaning of the poem/sonnet. She spoke loud and fast at some parts to accentuates some parts of the poem, and soft and slow at others, creating 'texture' for the listener. She also had a lot of confidence. And the poem rhymed, and she didn't do it in a 'sing song'y voice.


For me, the poem was super hard to interpret. I didn't really see so much of a literal meaning, more of a symbolicish meaning. It was kinda about unconditional love, emotion, passion that kind of stuff. I think he's describing his mistress/wife... I think he was comparing his wife to a goddess or something. No, that's the opposite. Even though she is kinda ugly and gross and 'her breath reeks', he still has to love her anyway. In my opinion, the meaning lies in the metaphors and similes Shakespeare applies, even though he doesn’t use them to desribe his mistress, but to describe what she’s not. It's kind of ironic.