Eyes are often described as the windows to the soul, holding and expressing emotions that words sometimes cannot convey. Across literary history, poets have found an intricate connection between love and the gaze, using imagery of eyes to capture feelings of longing, passion, affection, or heartbreak. This article delves into six remarkable poems where eyes and love are intertwined, exploring how each poet expresses their perception of romance through these potent symbols.
1. “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron
Lord Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty” is a striking example of a poet enthralled by a vision of feminine grace. The poem celebrates the physical and spiritual beauty of a woman, and it is the description of her eyes that stands out as the gateway to her inner world. Byron writes:
“She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes.”
The poem opens with a powerful simile, likening the lady’s beauty to a perfect night sky. Byron cleverly contrasts the darkness of the night with the brightness of stars, mirroring the complex duality he sees in her beauty: a fusion of shadow and light. The poet emphasizes how her eyes reflect this harmony, acting as a meeting point where contradictions merge seamlessly. In Byron’s imagery, the eyes represent a synthesis of darkness and illumination, hinting at a depth of character that transcends mere appearance.
The second stanza continues to exalt the balance evident in her physical features:
“One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.”
Byron attributes the woman’s beauty not only to her physical features but also to the serenity in her eyes, suggesting that her external allure is a reflection of her virtuous spirit. Her gaze holds the essence of purity and grace, revealing her inner gentleness and the nobility of her soul. The poet’s depiction invites readers to recognize that the woman’s loveliness lies not in the superficial but in the fusion of her external and internal qualities.
2. “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18,” also known as “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” is a timeless meditation on love and beauty. The sonnet does not explicitly mention eyes until later sonnets in the sequence, but it lays the groundwork for understanding how Shakespeare crafts the imagery of love’s gaze. Here, beauty is both eternal and transcendent, preserved in the words of the poem.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
The poem praises the beloved for surpassing the ephemeral beauty of nature. Although eyes are not mentioned here, the comparison implies the poet’s vision, as he sees the lover through a lens of admiration and permanence. The reader understands that Shakespeare is captivated by the sight of his beloved, and through this admiration, the poet makes a lasting impression in verse.
A more focused look at eyes appears in later works like “Sonnet 130,” where Shakespeare acknowledges love through realistic, even flawed depictions. In “Sonnet 18,” however, the beloved is idealized, and the imagery radiates through the implied eye of the beholder.
3. “Bright Star, Would I Were Steadfast as Thou Art” by John Keats
John Keats, in “Bright Star, Would I Were Steadfast as Thou Art,” crafts an ode to love and the eternal. The speaker yearns for the unchanging and eternal, drawing inspiration from the imagery of a steadfast star. Though the poem does not directly refer to human eyes, the poet’s longing gaze toward the sky parallels the romantic intensity found in human love.
“Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art—
Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores.”
Here, Keats imagines the star as having “eternal lids,” evoking a sleepless, all-seeing eye. The star’s watchfulness mirrors the longing and constancy that the speaker craves in love. His desire to remain steadfast, like the celestial body, comes from a wish to eternally watch over his beloved, to feel her presence and heartbeat. The motif of the gaze transforms the silent adoration into something holy and sublime.
“Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever—or else swoon to death.”
The final lines make the speaker’s yearning more intimate. The idea of an unending watch over his love and the rapture of being near her epitomizes how eyes are conduits of affection and desire. The romantic gaze, though directed at a star, reflects human love’s need for an everlasting bond.
4. “When You Are Old” by W.B. Yeats
W.B. Yeats’s “When You Are Old” carries a quiet, mournful tone, as the speaker addresses a future where his beloved reflects on their past relationship. The poem’s imagery focuses on the concept of eyes as mirrors of time and love.
“When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;”
In this opening stanza, Yeats evokes the nostalgic power of eyes. The beloved’s youthful eyes once radiated a soft and vivid beauty, but now they have deepened with the shadows of experience. The imagery suggests how eyes can carry the weight of a life lived, holding memories of love and sorrow. The poet implies that even when physical beauty fades, the soul’s essence, reflected in the eyes, remains powerful.
“How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.”
Here, Yeats contrasts superficial admirers with the depth of the speaker’s own love. The eyes symbolize the “pilgrim soul,” a quest for spiritual connection that transcends surface-level attraction. This theme is central to the poem: genuine love recognizes the soul’s journey and sees beyond fleeting appearances. The poet masterfully uses eyes to illustrate the profound bond between two people, connecting memory and timeless devotion.
5. “Love’s Philosophy” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
In “Love’s Philosophy,” Percy Bysshe Shelley intertwines natural imagery with human affection, making a persuasive argument for love’s necessity. The poem alludes to the power of the gaze, as the speaker builds a case for unification in love.
“The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of heaven mix forever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle—
Why not I with thine?”
Shelley’s rhetoric emphasizes the natural union of elements, drawing a parallel to human love. Although the focus is not explicitly on eyes, the sentiment evokes the intensity of longing and persuasion often seen in the language of the gaze. The underlying question, “Why not I with thine?” suggests a moment of eye contact, a silent exchange where the speaker’s desire becomes palpable.
The poem continues with a sense of yearning:
“See, the mountains kiss high heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea—
What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?”
Here, the yearning for connection crescendos. The imagery of kissing and embracing draws readers into the poem’s world, where love manifests in nature’s harmony. The speaker’s unfulfilled desire resonates through the imagined gaze between lovers, an unspoken wish for reciprocity and unity.
6. “The Eyes” by Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton’s “The Eyes” is a haunting exploration of love, loss, and the profound effect a lover’s gaze can have on the heart. Sexton often writes with raw emotional power, and this poem is no exception. Her exploration of eyes serves as a metaphor for vulnerability and exposure.
“And now she turns her eyes
to yours and mine, and me—
the snow came in behind her
eyes that lifted to meet the mirror.
The moon kissed those eyes, and then
they turned and fell, wet stones
that ached and gleamed.”
Sexton’s language paints an image of eyes that are burdened yet luminous. The juxtaposition of snow and moonlight hints at a cold, reflective sorrow, suggesting that the gaze holds memories of love that are simultaneously beautiful and painful. Her use of “wet stones” to describe the eyes emphasizes heaviness, an emotional weight carried by those who have known love and loss.
“And yet, through every tear,
something fierce still shines—
the flame that refuses to die
even when shadows claim the world.”
Despite the tears, Sexton leaves a trace of hope. The eyes become windows not only to suffering but also to resilience. The poet masterfully balances fragility with an unyielding spark, demonstrating how eyes can be both reflective and revealing. In Sexton’s world, the gaze is a paradox: it bears the scars of love but also the fire of life’s persistence.
Conclusion
Eyes, in the hands of these poets, become a canvas for the nuances of love: passion, memory, admiration, longing, and sorrow. Each poem offers a different perspective, yet they all remind us of the enduring link between sight and soul, where every glance can hold a universe of emotion. Whether they are gentle, piercing, or wistful, eyes in poetry remain a timeless symbol of the mysteries and complexities of love.
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