Still to be neat, still to be dressed

One of the poem’s central concerns is the difference between appearances and reality. Jonson’s speaker conceives of the woman’s modification of her appearance as a way that “hid[es]” (Line 5) reality and her faults. The first stanza lists actions that are still to be done and are not reality, as reflected in the extensive use of infinitives in the first stanza. The woman is “to be” (Lines 1, 3, and 4) made ready; this repetition highlights the futurity of the actions.

The speaker further connects the shallow quality of appearance by describing how appearances only “strike [his] eyes” (Line 12). The multiple possible meanings of the word “look” (Line 7) in the beginning of the second stanza ties together these two stanzas. “Look” could refer to the act of seeing or to a specific outfit. Here, the phrase “[g]ive me a look” (Line 7) could also indicate that the woman should physically look toward the speaker for assistance.

In contrast to the first stanza, the second stanza is filled with active, present tense verbs like “give” (Line 7), “makes” (Line 8), and “flow[]” (Line 9). This use of verbs highlights the speaker’s feeling about these actions. To further illustrate the positive qualities of being natural and real, in his last line, the speaker connects realness and natural beauty to love, as only these features will win his heart.