The main purpose of this poem is to establish the fact that a woman does not need to fit the generalized stereotypes of women in order to be attractive and desirable in her own ways. Just because a woman is not the prototype of allurement does not mean she is not capable of being deeply loved.

Shakespeare is saying that he finds his woman just as good as every other woman who is portrayed as better than she actually is; he is saying that he doesn't fall for the inaccurate "ideal" characteristics that women are supposedly supposed to have.

Shakespeare says that he does not think of his lover as anything special; she is just a normal, average woman; there is nothing that stands out about her, and therefore she is not a woman that many men in this time period would find attractive in the slightest.

Shakespeare then moves on to saying that his woman not only looks and smells unappealing, but she also sounds irritating; her voice is annoying and unpleasant to hear, therefore she does not fit into the typical description of a desirable woman at this time.

Next, Shakespeare makes a note of how his woman does not smell nice either; he refers to the stereotype that women should smell pleasant, and bluntly says that his lover's breath smells awful.

Shakespeare begins by visually comparing his lover to the "ideal woman" and notes that she does not come close to meeting these standards; her eyes are dull her lips are not appealing, her skin is pale and gray, and her hair is not attractive; overall her outside appearance does not match the expectations set at this time period for the perfect looking woman.

Iambic pentameter continued throughout entire poem; rhyme scheme: ABABCDCDEFEFGG

dull, grayish-brown

decorated with a pattern

misrepresented by an exaggerated comparison