William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 47 is a profound meditation on love, perception, and the connection between the eye and the heart. It reflects the poet’s exploration of the relationship between physical sight and emotional experience, suggesting that the eyes and the heart are inextricably linked in the lover’s mind. Through vivid metaphors and subtle nuances, Shakespeare conveys the tension and unity between these two faculties of the soul. In this essay, we will first examine the overall structure and tone of the poem, followed by a detailed, line-by-line analysis of its meaning.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 47
Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took,
And each doth good turns now unto the other.
When that mine eye is famished for a look,
Or heart in love with sighs himself doth smother,
With my love’s picture then my eye doth feast
And to the painted banquet bids my heart.
Another time mine eye is my heart’s guest
And in his thoughts of love doth share a part.
So, either by thy picture or my love,
Thyself away are present still with me;
For thou no farther than my thoughts canst move,
And I am still with them, and they with thee;
Or, if they sleep, thy picture in my sight
Awakes my heart to heart’s and eye’s delight.
The Structure and Tone of Sonnet 47
Sonnet 47 adheres to the structure of the traditional Shakespearean sonnet, consisting of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter. The poem follows the ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme, typical of Shakespeare’s sonnet form. The rhyme and meter create a rhythmic flow that is both elegant and reflective, mirroring the contemplation of the speaker.
The tone of the poem is intimate and contemplative, expressing the speaker’s internal musings on the complexities of love. There is a sense of longing and devotion as the speaker explores how his love is sustained both by the physical image of the beloved and by emotional connection. Despite the complexity of the emotions described, the tone remains serene and almost philosophical, as the poet reflects on the way the heart and the eye work together in the lover’s experience.
Analysis of Sonnet 47
Lines 1–4
“Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took,
And each doth good turns now unto the other.
When that mine eye is famished for a look,
Or heart in love with sighs himself doth smother,”
In these opening lines, Shakespeare introduces the central conflict of the sonnet: the relationship between the eye and the heart. The “league” between the two suggests an agreement or bond, as if the eye and heart are in a symbiotic relationship, each benefiting the other. The phrase “a league is took” can be interpreted as a kind of truce or alliance, suggesting that these two faculties—vision and emotion—are working together to sustain the lover’s state of mind.
The speaker then describes two distinct, yet interconnected, states of longing. The eye is “famished for a look,” highlighting its desire for visual contact with the beloved. Meanwhile, the heart is “in love with sighs,” indicating that it is consumed by emotion and longing. The heart, overwhelmed by its feelings, is metaphorically “smothered” by its own sighs, an image that evokes the suffocating intensity of love. This duality of need—the eye’s thirst for visual confirmation and the heart’s emotional suffocation—sets the stage for the ways in which the two faculties will rely on one another.
Lines 5–8
“With my love’s picture then my eye doth feast
And to the painted banquet bids my heart.
Another time mine eye is my heart’s guest
And in his thoughts of love doth share a part.”
In the second quatrain, the speaker resolves the tension between the eye and the heart. The eye, when deprived of the physical presence of the lover, “feasts” on the beloved’s image, described as a “picture.” This “picture” represents not just a physical likeness, but also a symbolic representation of the lover, something that can sustain the eye in the absence of actual sight. The “painted banquet” is a metaphor for the satisfaction the eye finds in gazing at this image, which also invites the heart to partake in this feast. The eye and heart continue their reciprocal relationship: the heart finds comfort in the eye’s visual connection, while the eye finds solace in the heart’s emotional response.
In the next line, “Another time mine eye is my heart’s guest,” the speaker shifts the dynamic, suggesting that the eye, as a “guest,” enters the realm of the heart. This can be understood as the heart’s thoughts of love, or emotional musings, which are shared with the eye. In this way, both faculties are constantly interacting, each feeding the other’s needs and desires.
Lines 9–12
“So, either by thy picture or my love,
Thyself away are present still with me;
For thou no farther than my thoughts canst move,
And I am still with them, and they with thee;”
In the third quatrain, the poet deepens the idea of presence and absence in love. The speaker argues that the beloved is never truly absent because, whether through the “picture” or through the emotional bond of love, the beloved remains “present still with me.” Even if the lover is physically far away, the image or the memory of the lover is enough to keep them near. The phrase “no farther than my thoughts canst move” suggests that the distance between the speaker and the lover is only as great as the limits of the speaker’s imagination. The heart and eye are capable of keeping the beloved “present” in the mind, making physical separation irrelevant in the realm of love.
This emphasizes the central theme of the poem: that love transcends physical boundaries. The speaker’s connection to the lover is not dependent on proximity but on mental and emotional communion. The eye and heart remain united in the thoughts of the lover, a union that keeps the lover’s presence alive within the speaker.
Lines 13–14
“Or, if they sleep, thy picture in my sight
Awakes my heart to heart’s and eye’s delight.”
The concluding couplet brings the sonnet to a gentle resolution. The speaker suggests that even if the heart and eye are temporarily “asleep”—perhaps meaning that they are momentarily less active or less consumed by their emotions—the beloved’s image can rouse them. The “picture in my sight” serves as a stimulus that awakens both the heart and the eye, leading them to experience renewed joy and delight. The image, then, is not just a passive representation; it actively rekindles the emotions of love, proving that the image of the beloved can provoke a physical and emotional response even in their absence.
Conclusion
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 47 explores the powerful connection between sight and emotion, demonstrating how the eye and the heart work together to sustain love even in the absence of the lover. Through vivid imagery, the poet conveys the idea that love is not bound by physical proximity, but is sustained by the mental and emotional presence of the beloved. The poem’s structure, tone, and carefully crafted metaphors all contribute to the exploration of love’s transcendence beyond the material world, making it a timeless reflection on the interplay between the senses and the heart in the experience of love.
