Thomas Carew - Celia Singing

Song Meaning

This poem challenges the conventional wisdom that love enters solely through sight. The narrator directly addresses those who believe love's "fatal dart" must be an arrow from the eyes. He proposes an alternative path, urging the reader to "Close up those casements" – to shut off their visual perception. Instead of looking, the reader is invited to "but hear / This Siren sing." The power of Celia's voice is presented as a direct conduit to the heart, suggesting that love can indeed "enter at the ear." This sets up a central tension between visual and auditory experience as pathways for emotional connection. The poem employs a striking metaphor of Celia as a "Siren," a creature known for luring sailors to their doom with song. However, here the "sweet voice" is framed positively, capable of demonstrating love's entry through hearing. The imagery of "casements" for eyes and the eventual "rising sun" after the music concludes creates a narrative arc from blindness to revelation, guided by sound. Ultimately, the effectiveness lies in its elegant argument for a less common sensory experience of love. By contrasting the closed "casements" with the "rising sun," the lyrics suggest that by opening oneself to auditory beauty, one can achieve a profound, almost spiritual awakening, seeing the world anew once the music fades.