Doll’s Boy ’S Asleep
Doll’s Boy ’S Asleep - meaning Summary
Desire Multiplies in Sleep
This short lyric frames a scene of Doll’s boy asleep while a procession of women address each other about his body and feelings. The repeated counting and dialogue compress desire into a ritual: lips, heart, feet and eyes compete for possession. The poem contrasts physical restraint with emotional appetite, suggesting that his heart’s longing multiplies with distance, so feelings outpace movement even in sleep.
Read Complete AnalysesDoll’s boy ’s asleep under a stile he sees eight and twenty ladies in a line the first lady says to nine ladies his lips drink water but his heart drinks wine the tenth lady says to nine ladies they must chain his foot for his wrist ’s too fine the nineteenth says to nine ladies you take his mouth for his eyes are mine. Doll’s boy ’s asleep under the stile for every mile the feet go the heart goes nine
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