The speaker is an honest, straightforward man who observes his romantic partner with a keenly realistic eye. Rejecting the conventional, highly idealized poetry of his time, he refuses to compare the woman he loves to goddesses, roses, or the sun. Instead, he values authenticity and grounds his affections in reality, maintaining that his love is rare precisely because it relies on truth rather than exaggerated, artificial comparisons.

The mistress is the speaker's romantic partner, presented as an ordinary, flesh-and-blood woman. She possesses human characteristics that defy typical Elizabethan beauty norms, including grayish breasts, wiry black hair, and pale cheeks. She walks firmly on the ground rather than floating like a heavenly spirit, representing a natural, unvarnished humanity that commands the speaker's genuine affection.