Deep in the greenwood of my heart Is my abiding-place: I cloak my soul at feast and mart; I mask my face. Outlawed, but not alone, for Truth Is outlawed, too. You cannot banish us, proud world: We banish you.

The speaker describes an inward refuge—“the greenwood of my heart”—where the self can live authentically while outwardly conforming to social expectations (“cloak,” “mask”) in public life. The stance is not merely private withdrawal but a principled exile: the speaker is “outlawed” alongside “Truth,” suggesting that society’s norms can marginalize sincerity, conscience, or spiritual integrity. The closing reversal—“You cannot banish us… We banish you”—turns social exclusion into moral independence, asserting that the individual (and Truth) can reject the world’s false judgments. The passage dramatizes the Romantic/idealistic theme of inner sovereignty against a corrupt or complacent public sphere.