Interestingly, both Edward de Vere and the Stratford Shakepeare were born in April: De Vere on April 12, 1550, and Stratford on April 26, 1564. The latter even died in April (the 23rd in 1616), while De Vere died June 24, 1604.
The speaker’s attitude toward the beauty of the “dark lady” has dramatically changed in sonnet 141; until now, he has complained heartily about his bewitchment by the lady’s dark beauty and its fatal attraction for him. Now, he throws all that to the wind. However, sonnet 130 give a foreshadowing of this attitude.
First Quatrain: “In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes”
The speaker addresses the mistress again, telling her that, in fact, she is not really that easy on the eyes, and his eyes detect “a thousand errors” in her appearance. But even as his eyes “despise” what they see, his “heart” loves her “despite of view.” And therefore he is “pleas’d to dote” on her.
This change of heart could merely be a ploy, just another attempt to curtail the woman’s infidelity. He might be trying to break her hold on him. Knowing that she is vain about her appearance as well as her personality, he is probably trying to employ reverse psychology to make her more attentive to him. If she thinks he does not really care so much for her looks, he might dump her before she can dump him.
Second Quatrain: “Nor are mine ears with thy tongue’s tune delighted”
The speaker then continues his denigration of the woman’s attributes. He does not even care that much for the sound of her voice. As a matter of fact, he tells her, she does not particularly please any of his senses. In sonnet 130, he demonstrated how she did not compare favorably with a goddess, but now he notes that she does not compare well with other women. His senses of hearing, touch, taste, and smell are as unmoved by her as his sense of sight is.
Third Quatrain: “But my five wits nor my five senses can”
Despite the negative knowledge communicated to him by his five senses, his “foolish heart” cannot stop itself “from serving [her].” Because he has become her love slave, he hardly still resembles “the likeness of a man.” He is a “vassal wretch” and not a man at all.
The Couplet: “Only my plague thus far I count my gain”
All he receives from this relationship is a “plague.” She motivates him to sin, and all he gets out of it “pain.” He is taunting her, as he feigns his displeasure with your looks, but he is also quite serious as he bemoans the lustful relationship in which he seems to be inexorably tangled.
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