The poem opens with a small, odd cause and effect: a dull anger produces a dull sun. The speaker's mood seems to spill outward until even the daylight looks muted. Then the poem turns to two people, "you" and "I," who are set against each other through temperature. The other person is "an excellent frost," cool and composed, while the speaker is "a great fire," hot and burning. The title, "Outshone," hints at a contest between them, though the poem never says who wins.
The last image is the strangest: the street becomes "a bride's closet." That might suggest something white, hushed and stored away, perhaps a street covered in frost or snow, or perhaps a hope of romance that now feels packed up. The poem doesn't explain, and that openness is part of its effect. The mood is quiet and chilly, with anger smoldering underneath. It reads like a moment of tension between two people, seen through a world that seems to mirror their feelings.