Introduction of the Poem:
This poem may be classified as a dramatic monologue, that is, a poem in which somebody is speaking to somebody else, with the latter remaining silent throughout. Here the speaker is obviously a man who is speaking to a woman with whom he is in love. Of course, we are ourselves to imagine that the speaker is in love with the woman to whom he is speaking because the poet does not say so. It is quite possible that he is not really in love with her and is merely seeking some sensual pleasure . But his being really in love with her is a greater probability.
Critical Summary:
In the first stanza we are told that the speaker is in a somewhat melancholy mood and that the room is only dimly lighted. In the stanza which follows, the speaker tells the woman that he wants to know if there is any power in his hands to make her experience some kind of sensation when he fondles her. He has a purpose in fondling her but he does not want her to know the devices which he might use to arouse some kind of response in her to his fondling. He would like to know whether she is experiencing a sensation of pain or a sensation of pleasure.
In the third stanza the speaker says that he is gazing at her body which seems to him to take away any possible discomfort which the season might be causing to him. In other words, her very presence imparts certain pleasantness to the season or at least reduces its unpleasantness.
In the fourth stanza, the speaker says that, while his hands are moving over her body in quest of sensual pleasure which the physical contact between him and her would naturally provide him, he wants to know whether his mind should go back to the similar experiences which he had in the past. He has got into a dreamy mood, and his eyes are closing because his mind is travelling back to his past experiences of the same kind.
In the last but one stanza the speaker says that, while he is fondling her, her body is shrinking perhaps because she is not in a responsive mood. Her reluctance shows that he can no longer feel sure of her. His original self-confidence and his original feeling of certainty about her have dwindled; and this decline in his position in relation to her may be compared to a defect which appears in a mechanical toy, thus causing a disappointment to the child to whom the toy belongs. His original faith in the woman has suffered a setback just as a defect may occur in the mechanism of a child's toy. He then asks what this physical contact between him and her would lead to. Would this physical contact lead to a welcome development or to some kind of crisis which might shatter the relationship between them.
In the closing stanza, which consists of only two lines, the speaker asks how and under what circumstances his self - confidence and his faith in her sincerity have suffered a setback. He has lost his initial certainty about her just as a man might lose a watch which he had placed somewhere and then forgotten where he had placed it. His state of mind may now be compared to the half - light of the room . In other words, his state of mind at this time represents a mingling of faith and no - faith. His condition may be described as a mixture of self - confidence and a loss of self - confidence.
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