# Sonnet CXXXII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by William Shakespeare.

## What happens

The poet praises his beloved's dark eyes, which seem to pity him by wearing black mourning for his pain. He compares their beauty to the morning sun and the evening star, arguing that mourning suits the beloved's face and heart. He concludes by swearing that beauty itself is black and that all others are foul for lacking the beloved's complexion.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Desire

The poet's love is expressed through his admiration of the beloved's eyes and his plea for pity.

### Truth and Deception

The poet redefines beauty, swearing that black is beautiful and that others are foul for lacking it, challenging conventional standards.

## Character check-ins

### Love

The beloved whose eyes are described as pitying the poet.

## Key lines

> Thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me, Knowing thy heart torment me with disdain, Have put on black and loving mourners be, Looking with pretty ruth upon my pain.

I love your eyes, and they, as if they pity me because they know your heart torments me with scorn, have dressed in black and become loving mourners, looking with gentle compassion upon my suffering.

_The poet personifies the beloved's eyes as sympathetic mourners for his pain._

> Then will I swear beauty herself is black And all they foul that thy complexion lack.

Then I will swear that beauty itself is black, and that everyone else is ugly who does not have your dark complexion.

_The poet declares that the beloved's dark coloring is the true standard of beauty._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters/cxxxii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters