From the first line itself Rossetti compares her ‘heart’ to that of a ‘singing bird’, then to ‘an apple tree’, then to ‘a rainbow shell’ and finally ‘ gladder than all these’. She compares her heart to that of an apple tree to express the intensity of her love, just like the tree is full of fruit so is her heart. She is blissful and totally contended. The poet is very happy for her love has returned to her and now she has all positive images in her mind.
There’s a new beginning of love, joy, euphoria, the feelings are spontaneous. In the second half of the poem a lot of colorful vocabulary is used which also has religious connotations, ‘doves’, ‘peacocks’ and ‘silver grapes’. So intense is her happiness that she wishes to be raised on a ‘dais’, meant just for her. ‘the birthday of my life Is come, my love is come to me.’, this is a clear reason for her happiness.
There is four pair of lines on each verse. Each pair is made up of a simile, followed by a describing clause. The repetition of certain words, creates a definite pattern, the whole poem is very rhythmic and lyrical, suitably expressing the joy and music in her heart as she has reunited with her husband. A tone throughout the poem is joyful. The pace is quick matching her enthusiasm. Rossetti repeats the reason for a joy in her poem because she and her love are united; it is her love that gives her a rehabilitated passion of life.
Both of Rossetti’s poems give a message to us that love has many sides, the ups and downs, and the blissful and euphoric moments. ‘A Birthday’ is about new life and ‘Remember’ is about death.
These next four poems will show us different sides of love such as physical love and dominating love and how physical appearances could be deceiving.
‘How Do I Love Thee?’ is a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It is written in the first person technique. The poet is about how a wife is proclaiming her love for her companion. Basically Elizabeth is answering her own question in the poem, and she answers it well, with the use of repetition as a main technique, similes, biblical references and imagery.
The title itself reveals that the poem is about love. Using a question it makes us also think about it, about whom we love and how. The title is repeated right in the first line of the sonnet so emphasize on the title more and ‘Let me count the ways.’ just builds up the excitement for us to know all the ways she would express her love for her companion.
‘I love thee to the depth and breadth and height’. Elizabeth has used biblical references to compare her love as much Jesus Christ’s love for her husband. She also says that her love will be there for him till ‘the ends of Being’, her love would never fade, it would never diminish. ‘Most quiet need, by sun’.
She expresses her deepest feelings, dedicates her life to her husband and uses a comparison to the mighty Jesus Christ. In the middle of this love proclaiming sonnet comes a simile that compares her love to that of soldiers, ‘I love thee freely, as men strive for Right: I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.’ It is a genuine love just as the soldiers love their nation so does she in the same way love her lover.
‘with my childhood’s faith.’ When you are a child, you do not question faith, you believe without reluctance, she also loves him in the same way. It is such a sincere love just as a child’s love for the parent.
There is a regular rhyme scheme, making the poem memorable. The poem is emotional and intense. Repetition of the line pattern, ‘How Do I Love Thee?’. Reinforces her feelings. The fact that she loves him ‘thee’ is showing respect, something that is needed for a strong relationship. Showing us the importance of a respecting relation, Elizabeth asks God’s blessings for their love.
Some poets like these believe that relations should be blessed. She loves him so much that he has become a part of her.
‘I shall but love thee better after death’. Elizabeth has proclaimed her love totally, even to the extremity of a spiritual dimension of love.
So far in all poems discussed we have got views from women and now a view of love from the poet John Clare. His poem’ First Love’, is a contrast to ‘How Do I Love Thee?’. It is a lyric poem. The poem is about John who was ‘struck’ with love and was so keen on knowing her that when he knew she wasn’t meant for him he was forlorn and dejected.
The title itself is self-explanatory. John Clare had experienced ‘First Love’ in his life. This is written in a first person technique so we come to know how it feels to be broken hearted.
In the first stanza the physicals symptoms of John are focused on. It is his first experience of love ‘so sudden and sweet’ he finds his ‘face turned pale as deadly pale’ compared to the ‘face it bloomed like sweet flower’, of the girl. He has fallen in love with physical beauty and his legs ‘refused to walk away’, since this is his first experience he is totally overwhelmed by his feelings, he is captivated by her physical charms and he expresses his feelings in detail. As he turns to ‘clay’, he feels completely helpless. The emotion of love has taken over him completely.
In the second stanza the physical symptoms are still taking place now blood rushing to his face and it seemed ‘midnight at noonday’. He was now blinded by love and nothing else mattered. John uses music to express love, ‘they spoke as chords do from a string,’, a simile comparing his unspoken words to the music created by a string instrument. He has no idea what was coming his way, he was so lost that in the third stanza ‘winter’ is associated with death and it symbolizes the death of his love, first it blooms in spring and in winter it dies.
‘she seemed to hear my silent voice’, she is aware of his attraction but does not respond in any positive manner. John is devastated with the fact that he has lost love, but may be the fault was his that he didn’t express his love and so she was not evident of it. As a result he feels that his heart has been stolen and now he is no more the master of his feelings. We see how John Clare has showed us how failure at ‘First Love’ can ruin a person. It can get a person really emotional.
This is a love that has not stood the test of time unlike ‘How Do I Love Thee?’ where the love has been for many years not like this one for just an hour. John should have also learned to express his love like Elizabeth Browning. John being a poet couldn’t express his love, this gives evidence that love is very emotional and you can be depressed.
‘A Woman to Her Lover’, is written by Christina Walsh and in this poem she demands companionship in her relationship. She wants them to be friends. She has very strong opinions of marriage and love, her thoughts are modern and are relevant to today’s world.
From the title we realize that it is Christina who is speaking, this woman knows what she wants from her lover and seems to be a more dominant partner.
In the first stanza strong images are piled on as we see a different emotion of love. She does not want to be married to a ‘conqueror to the vanquished’; she does not want to be made a ‘bond slave’. Christina wants a partner who is equally dominant. This whole poem is basically what time person Christina actually wants. She does not want to ‘bear’ ‘children’ ‘wearing out’ her ‘life’. She does not want traditional male egoist, who will dominate her. In the last few lines of the first stanza she makes herself firm that she doesn’t want to be treated like a slave and she would ‘refuse’ him. Very strong words with imagery are used. This first stanza is relevant to the women even in the 21st century.
The second stanza again makes use of images. She wants a meaningful relationship. She believes in equality. She believes that flattery is not respect, because she does not want to be treated as ‘a wingless angel who can do no wrong’. She does not want to be treated as fragile. ‘ I am no doll to dress and sit for feeble worship’, she does not want empty admiration and does not want a person who would adore her physical beauty. She does not want her life to be perfect and flawless, she wants to be human.
She talks more about this physical beauty and physical desires in the strong third stanza. ‘gratify your clamorous desire’ ‘my skin soft only for your fond caresses’ ‘my body supple only for your sense delight’ and finally gives a very hard-hitting reply with ‘shame and pity and abasement’ that no woman would happy to fulfill his physical desires. She disapproves of men who only wish to satisfy their physical desires.
The fourth stanza finally begins with a positive side, ‘But Lover’, in this stanza we see the ideal type of man that she wants in her relationship. She wants a ‘comrade, friend and mate’, she wants to ‘love and die’ with him. She wants them to love each other equally.
She believes that only marriage can be a happy one when there is mutual respect for each other’s feelings. Respect is very important in a relationship. Her marriage would radiance if there is ‘co equal love’, they will break all barriers.
The repetition of ‘I refuse you’ is reflected by this statement ‘I am your forever’. She wants a love, which is almost divine. If she does receive such a love, god will bless their love ‘reach the very heart of God’. She wants emotional and mental happiness in her marriage. She voices the opinion of many women stresses that women were becoming more dominated by.
Christina eventually died 15 years after her marriage. She was gentle, intelligent, sympathetic and deeply in love with her husband. The emotions of love are portrayed with dominance and happiness.
Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’, is poem, which shows us the negative aspect of love. So far we’ve seen the different emotions of love and now we see the jealousy involved in love and how possessive it can get.
The title is repeated in the very first line’ my last Duchess painted on the wall’. The Duke is speaking about his dead wife’s picture as if it is real, a very realistic picture.
Robert Browning uses the flashback technique to show us what ‘My Last Duchess’ actually means. As we read the poem we are informed of the fact that that the Duchess used to enjoy everyone’s company, ‘her looks went everywhere’. ‘ My favour at her breast, the dropping of the daylight in the West, the bough of cherries some officious fool’, he didn’t like the fact that she mixed with other men, in spite of being a Duchess. The Dukes patience could take it a little more longer and so he starts talking about his roots, ‘nine hundred
years old name’, about his nobility, his ancestors. He has got pride over his family’s name. The Duchess didn’t give much importance to that and he felt that it was more important.
The emotion of love is being taken over by pride, jealousy and possessiveness. The Duchess is a person who smiled at everyone, was a person who wanted attention. ‘Much the same smile?’ This was the last smile of her. He ‘gave commands’, to kill her, love has become possessive. He could not bare the fact that she used to spend much time with other men rather than her own companion.
Towards the end of the poem Robert show how the Duke say that he would tame his new wife, she would be dominated if he was not listened to, ‘taming a sea horse’.
We can understand for the Duke, obviously when he sees her ‘round the terrace’ riding on the mule with ‘all and each’ ,everyman jealousy is the only thing that would take over his emotions. The language technique of the writer is very indirect because the Duke doesn’t want anyone to know that he has killed his own Duchess.
This poem is a comparison to ‘A Woman To Her Lover’, there Christina talks about dominating partners and what they want from women and with this we get a pretty clear idea of the Duke.
In conclusion I would say that love can be of many types and it can lead to so many positive sides and negative sides. Love can also be interrupted by death, jealousy. From Christina Walsh’s poem ‘A Woman To Her Lover’, I have learnt that love should not only be service, worship, physical desires, but there is more to it. Love should be from the heart and not from the mind unlike John Clare ‘First Love’. I have also noticed that love has a spiritual and physical meaning. It is also divine as to Christina Walsh and Elizabeth Browning. Through ‘First Love’ I would be aware of the beauty of women around the world but not let loose of my self and if failed not to give up all hopes like John Clare. The emotions love in these poems has given me a different insight on love.
