This song declares itself immediately as a variation on the Renaissance and Baroque tradition of the pastoral song, with its use of the title, "To Chloris, " (Chloris and Phyllis were the generic names for pastoral shepherdesses and nymphs in Renaissance and Baroque literature), and the ornamentation in the accompaniment, the repeated trills and turns, also evoke the realm of the Baroque song. However, the work is not a mere imitation; it is a modern song, one that pays homage to, rather than imitates, the older models. The song is almost a three-piece composition than having just the vocal and the piano parts. The bass line to the piano accompaniment is generally a procession of stately chords, producing a contrast to the delicate, ornamented treble lines, and the vocal line is in the middle, both in terms of pitch and of its phrasing, being smoothly lyrical without either ornament or the heavy rhythm of the bass lines. The total effect is particularly lovely and surprisingly sensual, as the singer dwells upon his happiness in her love. "Everything they say about ambrosia cannot even aproach my fantasy of the delights of your eyes."

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