Sonnet 113

Song Meaning

The speaker's eye, separated from their beloved, has become a prisoner of the mind. It goes through the motions of seeing, but its function is impaired, effectively blind. The narrator states, "mine eye is in my mind," suggesting a disassociation where the physical act of sight is overridden by internal preoccupation. This internal focus creates a profound disconnect from the external world. The mind, which should process and deliver sensory input like "bird, of flower, or shape," is incapable of doing so. The lyrics explain, "it no form delivers to the heart," indicating that the beauty or even the harshness of reality fails to register. The most striking aspect is how all external stimuli are distorted and reshaped by the speaker's obsession. Whether the sight is "rud'st or gentlest," "deformed'st creature" or "crow or dove," the mind forces it into the "feature" of the absent beloved. This relentless reframing highlights the overwhelming power of the speaker's affection. Ultimately, the poem crafts a powerful image of love's all-consuming nature. The narrator concludes, "My most true mind thus maketh mine untrue," a paradox where the truest part of the self, the mind devoted to the beloved, renders the speaker's perception of reality false. This is why the world outside ceases to exist meaningfully, replaced entirely by the beloved's image.