Desire in the young man is of a different order, intense but also idealized and Platonic in a way which male Petrarchists writing about women often attempt but seldom achieve. Shakespeare calls his young man "sweet boy" (108, 5) and alludes occasionally to "rosie lips and cheeks" (116, 9), but is otherwise restrained and abstract.
The speaker's passion for the young man is distinguished by its lofty and unworldly nature, setting it apart from more earthly and carnal expressions typically found in male Petrarchan poetry about women.