Synopsis
Mirroring the actions in the first two quatrains of Sonnet 153, Sonnet 154 deals with an unnamed Cupid that Rowse defines as "The little god of love" who is vulnerable in sleep. The conflict arises as a group of "nymphs vowed to chastity" walk by the sleeping Cupid. The second quatrain explains that "The fairest of them took in her hand the fire that had warmed legions of hearts". This causes a conflict because the disarmer is a virgin and has stolen the powerful torch and symbol of love (Shakespeare line 8). The third quatrain introduces an even more devastating conflict as the virgin "quenched this brand in a cool well near by". The plan to destroy the symbol backfires as the well takes "perpetual heat from love's fire, becoming a medicinal bath for men diseased". The couplet resolves these conflicts as Rowse explains, "But I, my mistress' slave, came there for cure". The message is learned with the concluding line that love is a strong force and cannot be conquered: “Love’s first heats water, water cools not love.”
Read more about this topic: Sonnet 154