"O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken; / It is the star to every wandering bark, / Whose worth unknown, although his height be taken." Shakespeare's love for the poem's subject is as fixed as the North Star in the sky above. It is oblivious to other's opinions and is "never shaken." Shakespeare directly addresses the concept of sexual love verses spiritual love in lines 9-10 when he says, "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle's compass come." Sexual love relies on such things as "rosy lips and cheeks" to survive. It is based on an initial attraction that must be maintained for the love to last. Line 10 ensures that a love which is based on such worthless things will loose sight of what is important. Lines 11-12 reference 1 Corinthian's, Chapter 13, verses 4-7 where it says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of rights and wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves." Shakespeare says, "Love alters not with brief hours and weeks, / But bears it out even to the edge of doom." Shakespeare knew that love has no face, name or dress size. He also knew that love could not be bounded by rules of gender or societal regulations. Shakespeare was genuinely fond of a young man and had a deep love for him. Shakespeare did not see him as a man, though. Instead he saw him as a wonderful spirit whom he admired and wanted to boast about and honor.
Shakespeare again addresses his love for the young man in sonnet 20, but in a more erotic tone. Erotic undertones are seen because gender lines are blurred. Shakespeare begins this sonnet with erotic feelings. "A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted / Hast thou the master-mistress of my passion.