The poet now begins an analysis of what he might or might not say of his

beloved. He does not wish to follow the example of those poets who force
comparisons with everything that is fair, beautiful, strange or rare. Instead he
wishes to extol the virtue of truthfulness. Since his love is indeed beautiful,
what need is there of over praise? Why not say at the outset that, quite simply,
you, my love, are yourself, you outshine all praise. He who attempts to say
more is like a costermonger trying to sell his wares from a barrow. But this
poet will remain aloof from such gross pandering. The fact that his love is fair
is enough for him, and he will not enlarge his praise by false and ludicrous
comparisons.
The criticism of 'that Muse' is fairly general, but it is quite possible that it
applies to an individual rather than to a style of writing. Later in the sequence
sonnets 76-86 deal with the threat from a rival poet or poets and this sonnet
here is a perhaps a foretaste of what is to follow later.
It is more natural to suppose that the sonnets were written as a response to or
as a contribution to the easy discussions of a group of young men, some of
whom might have enjoyed a privileged position in relation to the cynosure of
the group, the young nobleman who has been encouraged in the previous
sonnets to repair his house (i.e. to marry and have children). The poetic
criticism levelled here might apply to many poets, Petrarch, Sydney, Daniel,
even Shakespeare himself (although we should not assume that it will be a
poet well known to our anthologies). It is a clever way of turning the tables on
conventional poetry, at the same time showing that one's own poems are just
as inventive. It also has the more serious motive of investigating the nature of
love - 'What is it that makes my loved one so special, so exalted in my eyes
above the conventional norms of beauty. What is it that makes him so
supremely himself?'