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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