Sonnet 130, or My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun, seems to have a lot to do with friendship. Shakespeare could not have said such things like "Coral is far more red than her lips' red." There must have been a very deep and understanding relationship between these two people. If Shakespeare and this woman were just lovers, Shakespeare probably would not have written such an honest poem.This woman he refers to might very well have been a friend of his mothers or an older lady. "My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground" (Damrosch et al. 1177). This could mean that she is very old and does not have the ability to walk properly. This also could lead to the conclusion that since this woman is old, she cannot put on any make-up or fix her hair anymore. This would explain lines four to eight. "If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, but no such roses I see in her cheeks. And in some perfumes is there more delight than in the breath that
             from my mistress reeks"( Damrosch et al. 1177). This woman may be losing her hair. That would account for the 'black wires'. The elderly do not usually have any colour in their face. This could be why Shakespeare said he saw no colour in her cheeks. When Shakespeare was alive, there were no toothbrushes. The older a person got, the more their teeth decayed. This must explain why his mistress had bad breath.
             Through the brutal honesty of this sonnet, people can see that Shakespeare loved this
             woman. The couplet illustrates this opinion. "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any
             she belied with false compare." (Damrosch et al. 1178) Shakespeare is telling the readers that no matter what his mistress looks like or how old she grows, he will always love her. His mistress defines a natural beauty that no woman who is young and uses make-up can achieve. The natural beauty that this woman displays ...