1 Sweet love renew thy force, be it not said
Sweet love renew your strength, do not let it be said Beloved, come back strong, don't let anyone say love come back strong 'Renew thy force' = restore vitality; the imperative is to love itself, not the beloved.
2 Thy edge should blunter be than appetite,
Your intensity should be duller than hunger That your power should be less sharp than hunger ur power less sharp than hunger 'Edge' = sharpness, intensity; 'blunter' = duller. Appetite is transient and consuming; love should remain keen and spiritual.
3 Which but to-day by feeding is allayed,
Which just today by eating is satisfied Which just today gets full after a good meal hunger satisfied by eating 'By feeding' = through consumption; regular satisfaction of appetite dulls it. Love must resist this pattern.
4 To-morrow sharpened in his former might.
Tomorrow sharpened back to its earlier power Tomorrow sharp again with fresh force tomorrow sharp again Appetite is cyclical—dull, then sharp, then dull—a mechanical fluctuation. Love should transcend this.
5 So love be thou, although to-day thou fill
So let love be like that, even though today you fill Let love be like that, so even if today you satisfy let love be like that even if u satisfy The paradox begins: love should cycle like appetite—by being allowed to dull through satisfaction and then renew.
6 Thy hungry eyes, even till they wink with fulness,
My hungry eyes until they close with fullness My hungry eyes until they close with contentment my hungry eyes till they close 'Wink' = blink, close in satisfaction; 'fulness' = satiation, completion.
7 To-morrow see again, and do not kill
Tomorrow see again and do not kill Tomorrow come see me again and don't destroy tomorrow see again don't kill 'See me again' = return; 'do not kill' = don't extinguish the newly renewed desire.
8 The spirit of love, with a perpetual dulness:
The spirit of love with endless dullness The spirit of love with forever boredom love's spirit with endless dullness 'Perpetual dulness' = continuous, unchanging boredom. Love must avoid becoming so routine it ceases to feel alive.
Volta The volta shifts from the complaint about love's dulling familiarity to the paradoxical solution: let separation be the 'ocean' and 'winter' that renews love's intensity.
9 Let this sad interim like the ocean be
Let this sad time between us be like the ocean Let this painful time apart be like the ocean this sad time like the ocean 'Interim' = the time in between meetings; the ocean is the volta's key metaphor—separation as both obstacle and source of renewal.
Wordplay: “sad interim like the ocean / shores, where two contracted new, / Come daily to the banks”
The ocean becomes a living intermediary, a space lovers traverse daily, making separation and reunion both ritual and geography.
10 Which parts the shore, where two contracted new,
Which separates the shore where two newly married people That divides the shore where two people just married separates shore with newlyweds 'Contracted new' = newly married/pledged; the metaphor suggests lovers on opposite shores, separated by water.
11 Come daily to the banks, that when they see:
Meet each day at the shore, and when they catch sight of each other Come daily to the water's edge, and when they see come daily to banks 'Banks' = shores; daily pilgrimage to the ocean's edge suggests ritual, devotion, and repetitive longing.
12 Return of love, more blest may be the view.
The return of love, more blessed might be the sight Each other return, the moment is even more beautiful love returns more blessed Each day's reunion across the ocean is heightened in blessing because of the daily separation. Repetition intensifies joy.
13 Or call it winter, which being full of care,
Or think of it as winter, heavy with sorrow and hardship Or call it winter, which brings so much sadness or call it winter full of care 'Winter full of care' = a season of anxiety and longing; winter is absence's emotional equivalent.
14 Makes summer’s welcome, thrice more wished, more rare.
Makes summer's arrival three times more wished for and rare Makes summer's return three times more wanted and special makes summer 3x more wanted Winter's austerity multiplies summer's value: 'thrice more wished' (desired) and 'more rare' (precious). Temporal cycle = emotional renewal.