Compel the hawk

Song Meaning

The lyrics present a series of impossible tasks, framing love's nature as something that cannot be coerced. The narrator lists absurdities like compelling a hawk to sit when it's wild or making a trained hound hunt without instruction. These are all actions that go against natural inclination or learned behavior, setting up the core argument about love. The repeated emphasis on the futility of these attempts highlights a central tension: the desire to control or force something that fundamentally resists such pressure. The writing powerfully illustrates this point through its structure of negation and impossibility. Each line offers a scenario that defies logic or nature, building a cumulative effect of helplessness against an unyielding force. The phrase "Your time is lost" directly addresses the futility of trying to force these outcomes, suggesting a wasted effort in attempting to bend free will or instinct. This rhetorical strategy underscores the idea that love, like the hawk or the hound, operates on its own terms. The ultimate conclusion drawn is that love cannot be compelled by force; it requires a willing heart. The final lines, "So Love ne learnes by force the knot to knit / He serves but those that feele sweete fancyes fit," articulate this directly. The imagery of knitting a knot suggests connection and union, but it's a process that "ne learnes by force." Love, it seems, is reserved for those who are already inclined, those who "feele sweete fancyes fit" – a notion that resonates with the inherent, unforced nature of the earlier examples.