Shakespeare permeates his lyrics with amazing metaphors and comparisons to express love and feelings. The metaphors used in Sonnet 103 and Echo and Narcissus by Shakespeare also present the reader with an indirect description of the sublime romance. On the other hand, the romance in these two works is, in many ways, similar, and, in as many ways, different. Thus, using the technique of metaphor, Shakespeare proves that love and feelings can be expressed in different ways and mean completely opposite things.
In Sonnet 103: My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun, the lyricist compares the body parts of his beloved to various things, implying that she is less beautiful. At the same time, the speaker believes that, despite this, his mistress is still pretty, and his love for her is priceless. Thus, Shakespeare proves that love cannot be measured by metaphors and abstract comparisons. He states that true love is above any comparison and should be experienced at the level of feelings and emotions. In describing Echo’s love for Narcissus, the author also uses many metaphors and comparisons. However, as with Sonnet 103, these metaphors pale in comparison to Echo’s true feelings. Both works prove that love and feelings do not lend themselves to a simple comparison with inanimate objects, but denote something more sublime.
The same metaphors and comparisons strongly distinguish the two works from each other. In Sonnet 103, Shakespeare compares the mistress to the sun, goddesses, roses, and snow: all these things are beautiful in themselves. However, when describing Narcissus’ feelings for Echo, the metaphors are not so beautiful: Echo is compared to a dense forest and swamps. She is forced to hide her shamed face in the woods, to mourn and shed tears. In Sonnet 103, metaphors serve as a comparison with sublime, bright, and sincere love, while the love of Echo and Narcissus is the complete opposite of this: it is more bashful, sad, and bitter.