����ý

Shakespeare is criticising the use of hyperbole by other poets.

In contrast he employs litotes. A litote is an understatement in which a positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite. The classic example of litotes is the phrase “not bad”.

For every conventional description he finds a way of undermining it. Instead of perfume, her breath "reeks". Her skin is not "snow" white, but "dun" coloured. Her cheeks are not full of roses.

Although there are a number of metaphors in the poem, they are not used to describe the speaker’s mistress. Instead, each description undermines a metaphor and she is described literally, "My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.”

The final line suggests that using over the top metaphors – described as "false compare" - actually "belie[s]" the object of comparison. In other words, it doesn’t do them justice.