Sonnet 114
Or whether doth my mind, being crown'd with you,
perception
love
flattery
self-deception
Or whether doth my mind, being crown'd with you,
Drink up the monarch's plague, this flattery?
Or whether shall I say, mine eye saith true,
And that your love taught it this alchemy,
To make of monsters and things indigest
Such cherubins as your sweet self resemble,
Creating every bad a perfect best,
As fast as objects to his beams assemble?
O,'tis the first; 'tis flattery in my seeing,
And my great mind most kingly drinks it up:
Mine eye well knows what with his gust is 'greeing,
And to his palate doth prepare the cup:
If it be poison'd, 'tis the lesser sin
That mine eye loves it and doth first begin.
What It Means
Is his mind a king who can make a monster beautiful by royal decree — or is it simply in love, and love has made his mind believe the monster is beautiful? He's drinking poison and calling it nectar. He prefers the second explanation: love has trained his eye to see the young man's face everywhere, and even if it's a flattery of perception, it's the first sin his eye commits.
Context
Part of the Fair Youth sequence.
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