In this song from Arcadia, the speaker declares a perfect heart-exchange with the beloved: “My true love hath my heart, and I have his.” Each willingly gives their own and claims the other’s, a trade so fair it feels like the best deal ever made. Holding the beloved’s heart, the speaker is never without it; the speaker’s heart, living in the beloved, guides all his thoughts and actions. The speaker cherishes the beloved’s heart because it bides in him, while the beloved loves the speaker’s heart as his former own. The two are inseparable—even pain becomes shared. When the beloved’s heart is wounded by the speaker’s gaze, that hurt instantly echoes in the speaker, so both suffer equally. But this shared wound pushes them toward shared bliss. The mood is gently playful—as if love is the most natural transaction—a permanent union sealed by the echoing final lines.
Song from Arcadia — Summary
My true love hath my heart, and I have his, By Just Exchange, one for the other given. I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss, There never was a better bargain driven. His heart in me keeps me and him in one, My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides; He loves my heart, for once it was his own, I cherish his, because in me it bides. His heart his wound received from my sight, My heart was wounded with his wounded heart; For as from me on him his hurt did light, So still methought in me his hurt did smart. Both equal hurt, in his change sought our bliss; My true love hath my heart and I have his.