“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.”
The lover begins a new extended meditation on the beloved's beauty, declaring her eyes to be like doves behind a veil, establishing the beloved's covered eyes as beautiful even in their hiddenness and suggesting that there is beauty in mystery and partial revelation. The reference to doves echoes earlier imagery while the addition of the veil establishes layers and the pleasure of gradual unveiling, suggesting that erotic pleasure involves anticipation and the gradual discovery of the beloved. The lover's focused gaze on the beloved's eyes establishes face-to-face recognition as central to his aesthetic appreciation and suggesting that he sees the beloved truly and fully. This verse theologically suggests that authentic beauty encompasses both revelation and hiddenness, and that erotic appreciation involves attentive gazing that honors the beloved's full person.
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