Lyric discussion by Mellow_Harsher 

Cover art for Sonnet lyrics by Decemberists, The

This song is based on a loose cover of Dante Alighieri poem "Love and Poetry". A bit about the poem:

"Dante is writing of Guido Cavalcanti and Lapo Gianni who were poets in his literary circle; Lady Vanna and Lady Lagia who were the ladies to Guido and Lapo; Beatrice who is referred to in the poem in line 10 as the 'she' who looms above the 30 best is Beatrice, Dante's immortal and eternal love (the 30 best are the 30 Dante named as the most beautiful women of the whole of Florence); and of the enchanter as in Merlin himself. In the painting it is key to realize that the moment in time is when Beatrice was alive in Florence because it is later after she is dead that he immortalizes her in his Divine Comedy as Eternal Love . . ."

Song Meaning