Let me pour forth / my tears before thy face
-- Speaker (Lines 1-2)

Importance: The poem begins with this short, direct address. Unlike many love poems, which have more elaborate beginnings, the speaker starts immediately with a demand of the beloved, asking her to allow him to "pour forth" his tears (1). This beginning creates a sense of intimacy and comfort between the two – this is not a courtship, but a marriage, with the attendant sense of directness and familiarity.

Thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear
-- Speaker (Line 3)

Importance: The speaker states that the face of his beloved has created, or "coined" his tears (3). The metaphor is that of money being minted. In early modern England, money was imprinted with the face of the monarch while it was still soft from being cast. This image created a powerful poetic metaphor for creation: the indelible image of someone becoming a permanent part of something as long-lasting and...