Jonathan Bate, in his work, The Genius of Shakespeare, analyzes the classical allusions within the poem. He writes, "In Sonnet 53, the youth becomes Adonis, retaining a controlling classical myth beneath the surface,' (Genius, p. 48). In addition, Bate writes about how the poem could be interpreted in a way reminiscent of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, "In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Theseus says that lunatics, lovers, and poets are of imagination all compact- their mental states lead to kinds of transformed vision whereby they see the world differently from how one sees it when in a 'rational' state of mind," (Bate, p. 51). This quote draws upon the theme of Shakespeare's attempt to materialize intangible emotions such as love or an aesthetic appreciation for beauty.