'Sonnet 130' - Honest Love

Sonnet 130 may confuse you at first. It is NOT a poem in which Shakespeare is criticising his lover - it's more complicated than that. Cliched poetry of Shakespeare's time was full of similes in which men compared their beloved to natural images (the sun, flowers, the sea) - but Shakespeare rejects all that in favour of a more honest, realistic portrayal of love. Maybe we should accept those we like most for who they are...