Song Meaning
These lyrics launch a direct, almost aggressive challenge to a lover's sincerity. The speaker is fed up with pretense, demanding to know if "love without desire" is even possible. There's a palpable frustration with a situation where "heat still remaining" exists, yet "no spark of fire" ignites.
The central tension here is the speaker's unwavering belief that genuine love *must* include desire and pleasure, contrasting sharply with the beloved's perceived emotional withholding. The lines "Thou art untrue, nor wert with fancy movèd" are a blunt accusation, bolstered by the universal claim that "Desire hath pow'r on all that ever lovèd." This isn't a gentle plea; it's an ultimatum for the beloved to "Show some relenting" or admit the truth, even if it's painful.
The craft here is driven by stark contrasts and rhetorical questions that hammer home the speaker's point. Phrases like "feigning" versus "desire," or "words and forcèd smiles" versus "truth," highlight the chasm between appearance and reality. The speaker's demands—"Yield, or confess" and "Love or dislike, yield fire, or give no fuel"—create a sense of urgency, refusing to settle for ambiguity or superficiality. The archaic "Fie on this feigning" immediately sets a tone of indignant dismissal.
What makes these lyrics so effective is their raw, uncompromising demand for emotional honesty. The speaker isn't just hurt; they're intellectually challenging the very definition of love if it lacks passion and pleasure. The final lines, "So may'st thou prove kind, or at the least less cruel," offer a poignant glimpse of the speaker's underlying vulnerability, suggesting that even a harsh truth would be preferable to the current, beguiling pretense. It's a powerful statement on the necessity of authenticity in connection.
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