1 Mine eye and heart are at a mortal war,
My eye and my heart are at war to the death My eyes and my heart are fighting hard against each other my eyes & heart r at war
2 How to divide the conquest of thy sight,
About how to divide the victory of seeing you Fighting over who gets to see you fighting over who sees u 'Sight' is ambiguous: the act of seeing and the visual image simultaneously.
3 Mine eye, my heart thy picture’s sight would bar,
My eye wants to bar my heart from your image My eyes want to keep your image all to themselves my eyes wanna keep u to themselves 'Bar' means to exclude; the eye claims monopoly on the visual/pictorial beloved.
4 My heart, mine eye the freedom of that right,
My heart wants to block my eye's right to that freedom My heart wants to take that right away from my eyes my heart blocks my eyes' right Each part of the speaker denies the other its 'right'—both are asserting claims of ownership.
5 My heart doth plead that thou in him dost lie,
My heart argues that you live inside it My heart says you live inside it my heart says u live in it The heart claims the beloved as interior, intimate presence—inward truth rather than outward show.
6 A closet never pierced with crystal eyes;
A private place never pierced by crystal eyes A private room that eyes can never see into a secret space eyes can't pierce 'Closet' is a private chamber; 'crystal eyes' cannot pierce this interior space, suggesting emotional intimacy is invisible.
7 But the defendant doth that plea deny,
But the defender denies that argument But my eyes argue against that claim but my eyes say no Eye is now cast as defendant; the legal metaphor hardens into courtroom drama.
8 And says in him thy fair appearance lies.
And says your beautiful appearance lives in it And says your beauty lives in what they see says ur beauty lives in what i see The eye counters with its own claim: beauty is visual, and therefore rightfully belongs to vision.
Volta The volta shifts from the eye-heart quarrel to the legal resolution: a jury of thoughts impanels to judge, creating a precedent-setting verdict.
9 To side this title is impanelled
To settle this title a jury is impaneled To settle this a jury gets picked jury gets called to decide 'Impanelled' refers to the formal process of assembling a jury.
10 A quest of thoughts, all tenants to the heart,
A group of thoughts, all servants to the heart Made of thoughts that all belong to the heart thoughts serving the heart 'Quest' = jury; 'tenants' are feudal dependents, suggesting thoughts are bound to the heart's sovereignty.
11 And by their verdict is determined
And the jury's ruling makes the final call And by their decision it's settled their verdict settles it
12 The clear eye’s moiety, and the dear heart’s part.
The clear eye's share and the precious heart's part What the eyes get and what the heart gets eyes' share & heart's part 'Moiety' = share/portion; the pun on 'clear' (bright, visually acute) and 'dear' (beloved, valued) elevates the heart subtly.
Wordplay: “clear eye's moiety, and the dear heart's part”
Puns on 'clear' (bright, visual) vs. 'dear' (beloved, valued), subtly privileging the heart by associating it with what is precious.
13 As thus, mine eye’s due is thy outward part,
So like this: my eye's right is your outward form So like this: my eyes get to see your body my eyes get ur outward look
14 And my heart’s right, thy inward love of heart.
And my heart's right is your inner love And my heart gets your inner love my heart gets ur inner love The final 'heart' appears twice—the beloved's inward heart (love) and the speaker's own heart (the one making the claim). The repetition suggests alignment, intimacy.