Meaning of "may do and doat" in a poem by Elizabeth Browning

Question

"The First Time" by Elizabeth Browning:

The first time that the sun rose on thine oath
To love me, I looked forward to the moon
To slacken all those bonds which seemed too soon
And quickly tied to make a lasting troth.
Quick-loving hearts, I thought, may quickly loathe;
And, looking on myself, I seemed not one
For such man's love!—more like an out-of-tune
Worn viol, a good singer would be wroth
To spoil his song with, and which, snatched in haste,
Is laid down at the first ill-sounding note.
I did not wrong myself so, but I placed
A wrong on thee. For perfect strains may float
'Neath master-hands, from instruments defaced,—
And great souls, at one stroke, may do and doat.

I don't understand the meaning of "may do and doat".

What exactly may great souls do? I understand that doat is an old form of dote (to love, to admire), but the overall meaning of the last line evades me.

Answer 1

It's a line heavily fraught with ambiguity.

Doat/dote itself is ambiguous: yes, it means "love", but it also means "behave or feel foolishly", and the latter meaning is dominant.

And the entire sonnet wavers in the object of its criticism—is it Elizabeth or Robert who is blamed for overhasty entry into a romantic relationship? In the opening statement it seems at first to be Robert, whose oath provoked the declaration; but then both seem to included in "quick-loving hearts". The second statement justifies, under the figure of the singer and his inadequate accompanying instrument, the likelihood of "loathing" as a consequence of Elizabeth's unworthiness; but lurking behind that figure is the fact that Elizabeth is herself a master-singer. At the time of their courtship Elizabeth was far more widely known and highly regarded than Robert, and there is considerable reason to believe that she strenuously resisted being reduced to a mere 'instrument' in his hands.

So despite the apologetic surface of the final quatrain ("I placed a wrong on thee"), which seems to cast Robert as the "great soul" capable of producing music from an out-of-tune viol, do and doat calls that in question: is it Robert or Elizabeth who behaves foolishly and self-destructively in embracing this love in such haste?

Answer 2

It is a poem, and poems suggest meaning rather than define it. So this is my interpretation.

First, "dote" has two meanings: (1) to think feebly, like a senile person, and (2) to love without proportion or sense. It always has a sense of foolishness.

Second, the overall thrust of the poem is that the author mistrusted the initial outburst of love (falling in love is seldom a highly rational process) and worried that the love expressed was not serious and so would not be long-lasting.

Third, "do" can stand for an understood but unspecified verb. As I interpret the poem, "do" here means "love seriously." She is saying that the silly aspects of falling in love, the "doting," can, for at least some people, coexist with serious caring and affection, "loving seriously."

Why not say that? It's a poem. "Love seriously and dote" has neither the meter nor consonance of "do and dote." The problem here is that the "do" is so highly allusive that the meaning is obscure.

Answer 3

Just trying to understand what do means there. I think I'm with StoneyB.

To doat is to love foolishly or unreasonably, either by loving too lavishly or by bestowing one's love upon one who is unworthy of that love.

The generic verb do need not refer anaphorically to a specific verb. It can refer to an idea expressed earlier; the anaphora can be semantic.

For perfect strains may float
'Neath master-hands, from instruments defaced,
— And great souls, at one stroke, may do and doat.

Consider the parallels in the analogy, with the master's hands on the strings echoed by "at one stroke":

Master musicians may bring forth perfect strains when playing an instrument unworthy of their skill.

And great souls may do (bring forth "perfect strains") when they are doating—bestowing their love on one who is not worthy of it.

Answer 4

Just a brief note to what Jeff Morrow and Tᴚoɯɐuo wrote above --

It's possible that "May do" in the final line of the sonnet is intended to remind readers/listeners of the wedding vow "I do." If so, then this would support Jeff's claim that "do" means "love seriously."

The larger sonnet sequence (Sonnets from the Portuguese) follows the relationship between the speaker of the sonnets (the Portuguese) and her beloved. The Portuguese initially is doubtful of her worth and consequently doubts her beloved's love for her. As the sequence progresses, the Portuguese gains confidence and assurance. Given the sweep of the sequence overall, I think it's likely that marriage is in the works. If so, then we might consider "may do" to be an echo of "I do."