On the one hand, the number forty reflects the age of middle-aged persons, while 40-Love represents the scoring word in tennis, with love representing zero. Because of the time period in which the poem was written, it is reasonable to believe that the forty points belong to the man and love to the lady. This would make the poem quite romantic indeed. The poet may have been alluding to the fact that he is about to die when he wrote this poem. He probably did not want his family to be alone after he was gone so he decided they should marry for more than just money. By doing this, they would have rights over each other's property after he died. This is why he suggested that she put away her beauty for a more substantial match. He also wanted them to be happy forever after he was gone so he proposed that they get married before he dies. This is such a beautiful poem that many people think it was written only for her by him. But according to recent studies, it has been found out that this poem was written for both of them but by using different words depending on who's name is first in the line. In this case, the woman's name would be first so she gets to enjoy this poem first before it is sent to its true lover.