William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 47 is one of the many brilliant poems in his sonnet sequence that delves into the complexities of love, beauty, longing, and poetic imagination. In this sonnet, Shakespeare continues the theme of emotional and intellectual duality introduced in the preceding sonnet (Sonnet 46), where the heart and eye were in dispute over who possesses the beloved more truly. In Sonnet 47, however, the speaker presents a reconciliation: the eye and heart, formerly rivals, now allies. This unity allows for a fuller, more vivid experience of the beloved through both sight and emotional longing.
The sonnet meditates on the imaginative interaction between seeing and loving, exploring how memory and fantasy serve as tools of emotional sustenance during absence. Rich in metaphor and psychological insight, Sonnet 47 demonstrates Shakespeare’s mastery in conveying internal emotional landscapes through concise and elegantly structured verse.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 47
Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took,
And each doth good turns now unto the other:
When that mine eye is famish’d for a look,
Or heart in love with sighs himself doth smother,
With my love’s picture then my eye doth feast,
And to the painted banquet bids my heart;
Another time mine eye is my heart’s guest,
And in his thoughts of love doth share a part:
So either by thy picture or my love,
Thyself away are present still with me;
For thou not farther than my thoughts canst move,
And I am still with them and they with thee;
Or if they sleep, thy picture in my sight
Awakes my heart to heart’s and eye’s delight.
Structure and Tone of Sonnet 47
Sonnet 47 adheres to the traditional structure of the Shakespearean sonnet: three quatrains followed by a rhymed couplet, with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. This regularity supports the poem’s theme of harmony and resolution between the eye and the heart.
The tone of the poem is meditative, affectionate, and subtly triumphant. Shakespeare’s speaker expresses emotional satisfaction derived from inner resources—art, memory, imagination—rather than physical presence. The tone is not melancholy but rather reflects a serene confidence in the sustaining power of imaginative love.
Poetry Analysis
Lines 1–4:
Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took
And each doth good turns now unto the other
When that mine eye is famish’d for a look
Or heart in love with sighs himself doth smother
Summary: The sonnet begins with a resolution: the eye and the heart, once at odds, have formed a pact (“a league”). This alliance leads to mutual benefit—each serves the other in its time of need. When the eye craves the sight of the beloved, or when the heart is overwhelmed with longing, they support one another.
Analysis: These lines build directly on the conflict of Sonnet 46, presenting a harmonious aftermath. The metaphors of hunger and suffocation express the urgency of love’s needs—visual and emotional. The diction (“famish’d,” “smother”) emphasizes the intensity of deprivation, while “good turns” suggests a chivalrous partnership. The inversion of roles between eye and heart lays the foundation for the imaginative exchange that unfolds in the poem.
Lines 5–8:
With my love’s picture then my eye doth feast
And to the painted banquet bids my heart
Another time mine eye is my heart’s guest
And in his thoughts of love doth share a part
Summary: When the beloved is absent, the eye looks upon a portrait and is nourished by it. The eye then invites the heart to share in this visual pleasure. At other times, the heart hosts the eye, allowing it to participate in internal visions of love.
Analysis: This quatrain elaborates on the symbiotic relationship. The “picture” here may be literal (a painted portrait) or metaphorical (a mental image). Shakespeare uses banquet imagery (“feast,” “banquet,” “guest”) to symbolize sensory and emotional satisfaction. The elegant exchange—where the eye “feasts” and invites the heart, or the heart hosts the eye in reverie—elevates love’s imagination to a courtly ritual, imbued with richness and civility.
Lines 9–12:
So either by thy picture or my love
Thyself away are present still with me
For thou not farther than my thoughts canst move
And I am still with them and they with thee
Summary: The speaker concludes that, whether through the image or the emotion of love, the beloved remains present even in absence. The beloved cannot be further than the speaker’s thoughts, which are constantly with him—and thus, the speaker is with the beloved.
Analysis: Here Shakespeare emphasizes the power of the mind to overcome physical separation. The repeated ideas of presence in absence and the interplay between thought, sight, and love reflect a Neoplatonic view of love—transcending the body through inner faculties. The gentle logic of these lines constructs a loop of presence: the beloved is in the speaker’s thoughts, the speaker is with those thoughts, and thus with the beloved. This suggests a comforting illusion, but one grounded in deep emotional truth.
Lines 13–14 (Couplet):
Or if they sleep, thy picture in my sight
Awakes my heart to heart’s and eye’s delight
Summary: Even when the heart and thoughts are dormant—perhaps asleep or momentarily forgetful—the image of the beloved seen by the eye reawakens them both, renewing pleasure and emotional vitality.
Analysis: The final couplet serves as a lyrical resolution. The poem ends on an uplifting note, celebrating the reviving power of love’s image. It reinforces the poem’s central idea: that love, through imagination and sensory remembrance, can defy absence. The phrase “heart’s and eye’s delight” unites the faculties once divided, encapsulating the sonnet’s message of reconciliation and imaginative fulfillment.
Conclusion
In Sonnet 47, Shakespeare presents a beautifully composed meditation on absence, imagination, and emotional sustenance. He explores how internal faculties—sight, memory, and feeling—collaborate to preserve intimacy and connection in the beloved’s absence. With a formal structure mirroring the poem’s balanced emotional tone, and a seamless interplay of metaphor, this sonnet affirms the endurance of love beyond physical presence. Shakespeare elevates inner vision as not only a substitute for reality but, in moments of longing, a reality in itself.
Related topic:
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 40: Full Analysis