1 Sweet love renew thy force, be it not said
Sweet love, renew your strength—let it not be said love, get your power back, don't let people say love renew yourself 'Renew thy force' = restore vitality; the imperative is to love itself, not the beloved.
2 Thy edge should blunter be than appetite,
Your sharpness has grown duller than base hunger, you've gone as dull as appetite, you're duller 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 today through feeding is satisfied, which is dulled when you feed it, hunger dulls when fed '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 again with fresh force. and comes back sharp tomorrow, sharp again tomorrow 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 this, though today you satisfy so let love work that way—fill my need today love like appetite 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,
Your hungry eyes until they close in satisfaction, my hungry eyes until they close satisfied, hungry eyes close with fullness 'Wink' = blink, close in satisfaction; 'fulness' = satiation, completion.
7 To-morrow see again, and do not kill
Tomorrow see me again, but do not kill but see me again tomorrow, don't destroy tomorrow return, 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 perpetual dullness. the spirit of love with endless boredom. love's spirit with constant 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 interim be like the ocean, let our separation be like the ocean, separation 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.
10 Which parts the shore, where two contracted new,
Which separates the shores where lovers newly vowed, that parts two newly married lovers, dividing newly bonded lovers '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:
Come daily to the banks so that when they see, come daily to the shore, so when they see come to the shore daily '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 seems the meeting. love returning, their meeting becomes more blessed. reunion becomes 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 call it winter, which, full of care and woe, or call separation winter, filled with worry, 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 welcome thrice more desired and precious. makes summer's return much more treasured and rare. makes summer thrice more wanted Winter's austerity multiplies summer's value: 'thrice more wished' (desired) and 'more rare' (precious). Temporal cycle = emotional renewal.