Song Meaning
These lyrics paint a vivid portrait of a woman whose beauty is so profound it seems to open two wildly divergent paths before her. The speaker admires her physical grace, noting her "noble from head / To great shapely knees." This initial description sets a tone of classical reverence, hinting at a figure of almost mythical stature.
The central tension of the lines emerges from the stark contrast between these two imagined destinies. On one hand, she might have been a figure of divine purity, destined to have "walked to the altar / Through the holy images / At Pallas Athene's Side." This imagery evokes a sense of sacredness, wisdom, and a chaste, revered existence, perhaps even a goddess-like status.
Yet, the very next lines pivot dramatically, suggesting an entirely different, primal fate. She could just as easily have been "fit spoil for a centaur / Drunk with the unmixed wine." Here, the language shifts from the sacred to the savagely profane. The centaur, a creature of mythic wildness and lust, and the "unmixed wine," symbolizing raw, untamed intoxication, conjure an image of abduction and primal desire, stripping away any sense of sanctity.
This powerful juxtaposition, presented without judgment, makes the lyrics incredibly effective. It forces a contemplation of beauty's dual nature—how it can inspire both the highest forms of reverence and the most untamed, even violent, desires. The speaker's use of "SHE might" frames these as speculative possibilities, leaving the reader to ponder the complex, often contradictory, forces that beauty can unleash.
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