1 A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted,
A woman's face, created by nature's own hand, You have a face beautiful as a woman's— beautiful like a woman 'Painted' = created, adorned; nature as artist.
2 Hast thou the master mistress of my passion, A paradox of gender and desire: the young man is both master and mistress, controlling masculine and feminine power.
You are the master-mistress controlling my desire, You're the one—whether master or mistress—who controls my heart, you control me completely 'Master mistress' = a pun on gender and dominance; masterful feminine control.
Wordplay
- master = commanding, dominant person
- mistress = beloved, lover, or female lover
- the compound 'master mistress' suggests gender transcendence and paradoxical control
3 A woman’s gentle heart but not acquainted
A gentle heart like a woman's, but not accustomed with a woman's tender heart—except you're nothing like gentle like women but different
4 With shifting change as is false women’s fashion,
To the inconstancy that marks false women, the false, fickle nature of most women. not fickle like women usually are 'Fashion' = manner, custom; contrast: his gentle heart is truly constant, unlike false women.
5 An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling:
An eye brighter than women's, less deceptive in its gaze, Eyes more radiant than theirs, more honest in how they look, brighter eyes, more honest 'Rolling' = roving, turning, the eye's deceptive movement; his eye is constant.
6 Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth,
Making gold everything it looks upon, turning everything you gaze at into treasure, making gold of everything you see 'Gilding' = covering with gold, beautifying; the eye as alchemy.
7 A man in hue all hues in his controlling,
A man in form controlling all forms and colors, But you're a man who commands all beauty in your presence, a man who controls all beauty 'Hue' = color, appearance, form; 'controlling' = commanding, mastering.
8 Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.
Who steals men's eyes and amazes women's souls. captivating men and women equally. amazing everyone 'Steals' = captivates; simultaneous appeal to men and women, transcending gender.
Volta The volta shifts from praising the young man's paradoxical beauty to recognizing what nature's 'addition' means: exclusion from physical love, acceptance of emotional devotion only.
9 And for a woman wert thou first created,
And you were first created as a woman, At first, nature meant to make you a woman— you were meant to be a woman
10 Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting,
Until nature fell in love with you as she made you, but she fell in love with what she was creating—with you— but nature fell in love with you 'Fell a-doting' = fell in love, became infatuated.
11 And by addition me of thee defeated,
And by adding something, shut me out from you, and by adding one final thing, she cut me out, and excluded me 'By addition' = by adding something (masculine form); 'defeated me' = excluded me.
12 By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. A devastating pun: the 'one thing' nature added to the young man is the source of the speaker's exclusion.
By adding one thing, making my desire impossible, by giving you what I can never have. ruining all my chances Dark pun: 'one thing' = the male sexual member, literally 'nothing' (absent in women), making the speaker's love impossible.
Wordplay
- 'one thing' = the penis, the male sexual organ
- 'nothing' = slang for female genitalia (the absence, in Renaissance terms, of visible male anatomy)
- the paradox: adding a 'thing' (something) defeats the speaker's purpose by introducing a radical difference
13 But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure,
But since nature chose you for women's pleasure, But since nature picked you for women to enjoy, nature made you for women 'Pricked thee out' = chosen you; 'pleasure' = sexual pleasure.
14 Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.
Let me have your love, and let women have your physical love. let me have your heart, and let them have everything else. i'll take your love, they can have the rest 'Use' = usage, sexual function; 'treasure' = prize, valuable commodity.