Dear pity, how?

Song Meaning

These lyrics open with a dramatic, almost theatrical plea to "pity" itself. The speaker is consumed by a deep, unrequited admiration. They question how pity might even "become her" – the object of their affection. It's a raw, immediate expression of longing. The core tension here lies in the speaker's desperate query: "Shall my desert deserve no favour from her?" This isn't just a question of love, but of perceived worthiness. Despite their "deep adminring," they feel trapped, endlessly "to waste myself" in a devotion that yields no return. The most striking image arrives with the comparison to "him who calls to echo to relieve him." This isn't just a casual simile; it's a profound articulation of self-perpetuating grief. The speaker is caught in a loop, "Still tells and hears the tale," where their own sorrowful pleas are merely reflected back, offering no solace, only reinforcing the "tale that grieves him." Ultimately, these lines resonate because they capture the isolating agony of unrequited devotion. The archaic language lends a timeless, almost tragic grandeur to a very human experience. By personifying pity and then illustrating the futility of their own efforts with such a vivid, self-referential image, the lyrics make the speaker's profound sorrow feel both deeply personal and universally understood in its intensity.