Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 1173-1184
Tho' if an eye that's downward cast
Could make thee somewhat blench or fail,
Then be my love an idle tale,
And fading legend of the past;
And thou, as one that once declined,
When he was little more than boy,
On some unworthy heart with joy,
But lives to wed an equal mind;
And breathes a novel world, the while
His other passion wholly dies,
Or in the light of deeper eyes
Is matter for a flying smile.
- The first stanza here is basically saying: "Dude. If my acting all emo down here seems to you like a total fail, then just go on. Forget about me."
- Eventually, the two will be reunited again like two people of equal minds getting married, with one previously refusing to marry someone unworthy.
- Hmm...so, were these guys just friends? Really—what's up with this?
- Let's read on…