First love

The first stanza is full of terms with vibrant connotations. The poet uses this to create a jovial atmosphere and help the reader determine his emotions at that time. The very first line informs the reader that love had never ‘struck’ him before that day that he saw her. The word ‘struck’ denotes that it was something unexpected and impulsive. He links her beauty to a radiant flower, using the words ‘sweet’ and ‘bloomed’. The word ‘bloomed’ may also imply that when he saw her, his world brightened and he felt alive. ‘And it stole my heart away complete’ entails that upon laying his eyes on her, she had his utmost attention. The last four lines of this stanza indicate that he perceived her as goddess; this because his face turned a ‘deadly pale’ – it depicts how nervous she made him. Clare claims his ‘legs refused to walk away’; this symbolises the trance he was in and how hypnotic her beauty was to him.  ‘And when she looked what could I ail?’  - alludes that when she looked his way, he was left breathless. ‘My life and all seemed turned to clay’; this line conveys how to him, everything else in his world came to a stop in that moment.

Although, it is just the first verse, it expresses quite eloquently how he felt.  This concludes that what Clare felt upon their first meeting, was something he had never experienced before and the clammy, bewilderment he felt left him breath taken and yearning for her. He truly believed that it was love at first sight and he could not rest because he didn’t have her. I think that he became a bit too fixated with his love for her and couldn’t let go. This affected his health and wellbeing, eventually leading him to lose his mentality. In my opinion, it may have been love at first, but, thereafter, it became lust where he just longed for her. If he truly loved her, he would have been happy for her even if it meant without him.

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