Song Meaning
The speaker grapples with whether their perception of a loved one is genuine admiration or a self-deceptive "monarch's plague" of flattery. The mind, "crown'd with you," seems to willingly consume this sweet poison, questioning if the eye's vision is truthful or merely a tool of the mind's desire. It's a debate between objective reality and subjective adoration, where the mind actively participates in its own delusion.
This internal conflict hinges on the power of love to transform perception, like "alchemy." The speaker wonders if their eye, influenced by this love, can truly "make of monsters and things indigest" into "cherubins" that resemble the beloved. The lyrics suggest a profound doubt about whether beauty is inherent or a construct of the loving gaze, capable of turning "every bad a perfect best."
The most striking craft element is the extended metaphor of the mind as a king "crown'd" and "kingly" who "drinks it up" like a "plague" or poison. This royal imagery highlights the speaker's perceived loss of control and the intoxicating, perhaps dangerous, nature of their infatuation. The eye, acting as a servant, "doth prepare the cup" for the mind's consumption, underscoring the active role the speaker plays in this self-deception.
Ultimately, the lyrics are effective because they capture the universal tension between seeing what we want to see and what is actually there. The speaker's willingness to accept a potentially "poison'd" vision, deeming it a "lesser sin" because the eye "loves it and doth first begin," reveals a deep-seated human tendency to prioritize the pleasure of adoration over the harshness of truth.
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