The speaker wonders how a woman gave in to love: did she sigh softly, pretend to be dreamy, or make solemn vows at an altar? The answer is deliberately flat. When Love itself showed up, she tied back her hair like a housewife and walked out across the field to milk the cows. The humor comes from the clash between grand phrases like “abdicate,” “rapt vows,” and “Love himself,” and the ordinary chore waiting for her. The mood is wry and amused rather than romantic. It suggests that real life, especially for women, rarely allows space for dramatic surrender—there are cows to tend. The speaker seems to admire that practicality, even while gently poking fun at lofty romantic expectations.
My Lady Surrenders — Summary
How did she abdicate? Was it with soft sighs And pretty feignings of a lover's state, Or was it solemn-wise, With altar offerings and rapt vows?
O no! when Love himself was there. Most housewifely she bound her hair And went off across the field to milk the cows.