Poetry · Chapter
XIX explained
The speaker argues that beauty and love are inseparably joined by Nature, and that love should be based on the soul's perception of beauty rather than mere physical desire.
What happens
The speaker argues that beauty and love are inseparably joined by Nature, and that love should be based on the soul's perception of beauty rather than mere physical desire. He confesses that his own love for the beloved is tainted by mockery and self-awareness of his ugliness, so he chooses to sing of beauty rather than possess it, fearing he would dishonor it like a slave wearing a king's robes.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Loss
The speaker's love is tempered by self-awareness and mockery, leading to a renunciation of possession.
Self and Identity
The speaker's self-perception of ugliness shapes his approach to love and beauty.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Beauty and love let no one separate, Whom exact Nature did to each other fit”
No one should separate beauty and love, because Nature precisely joined them together.
The speaker establishes the inseparable bond between beauty and love as a natural law.
“I could but love thee out of mockery Of love and thee and mine own ugliness”
I could only love you as a mockery of love, of you, and of my own ugliness.
The speaker confesses that his love is tainted by irony and self-deprecation.
“Lest, like a slave that for kings’ robes doth long, Obtained, shall with mere wearing do them wrong.”
For fear that, like a slave who longs for a king's robes, once he gets them, he would dishonor them just by wearing them.
The speaker compares himself to a slave unworthy of royal garments, implying he would degrade the beloved's beauty by possessing it.