Delight in Disorder

"Delight in Disorder"
by Robert Herrick

This poem has a lot of imagery in it.  The detail is describing a girl that a boy is bewitched by.  The boy refers  to the girl's appearance as "a sweet disorder" (Herrick, 979).  Though her clothes aren't perfect, the ribbons are disorganized and her shoestrings are not tied right, he still finds her beautiful and captivating.  Her disorder is more appealing to him than and work of art that is organized or clean.  A point to this poem is to show that if a man is in love, he will love every single little part about the woman.  He will put her above all else, no matter how she looks.  Her appearance is not why he loves her, but he even loves her appearance when it is disorganized.  He loves her for her personality, intelligence, and many other character traits that are not shown in her outward appearance.
He examines the one he loves, noting everything he can see.  Though a reader may perceive this as just a description of a frumpy or disorganized woman, it is the last few lines that show the purpose of the poem: an expression of love.  The reader may not understand the feelings of the narrator, but his feelings are clear.  The narrator personally finds the woman more beautiful than art, and expresses her disorganization in loving terms.