Sonnet 46: Mine Eye And Heart Are At A Mortal War Comments

What a lovely poem by a bard

It is a member of the Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man. Sonnet 46 is continued in Sonnet 47. Sonnet 46, along with sonnets 24 and 47 (which are all sonnets referring to the eye and heart tension) , is known as an absence sonnet. George Massey states that the sonnet has the look of a lover fondling the miniature of his beloved, and rejoicing that in her absence he has at least her portrait to dote on and dally with.The picture is not an actual portrait though, but rather a “visionary portrait of the Earl for the possession of which the eyes and heart contend. [from Wiki]