Love’s Philosophy Flashcards
summery of poem
This is a very persuasive poem, where the speaker
tries to convince a love interest that she should be
with him.
The narrator is addressing a woman - he’s trying to persuade her to be with him romantically.
2) The narrator gives examples to show how everything in nature is connected in an intimate and loving way. He believes that this is God’s law and that this law should be obeyed.
3) He asks the woman he’s addressing why she’s ignoring God’s law by refusing to have a loving relationship with him. He finally questions what use all the bonds in nature are if he can’t be with her.
who wrote Love’s Philosophy?
Percy Bysshe Shelley
context of Loves Philosophy?
-Shelley was a well known a well known atheist - ironic as he uses religion as a pursuasive technique
-Shelley was expelled from Oxford for his views.
-He had scandalous relationships, and is best known for his marriage to Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein and friendship with Lord Byron.
-He drowned at the age of 29
structure of Loves Philosophy?
-The poem uses an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme, but with some half-rhymes in both stanzas (river, ever / heaven, forgiven) reflecting the discord of the situation.
-The dash before the final line in each stanza (rhetorical questions to the girl) disrupts the poem’s rhythm, reflecting how her rejection disrupts nature.
-Repetition of words linked to physical desire: kiss, clasp.
-The poem is short and concise, adding to its impact as a persuasive message.
STRUCTURE -The poem is tightly structured to be persuasive. The narrator uses the majority of each stanza to build up evidence to support his argument that everything in nature is supposed to come together.
He uses a short line at the end of each stanza to ask a rhetorical question - this line stands out from the rest of the stanza, which emphasises the contrast between nature and the narrator’s situation.
Loves Philosophy themes?
-Unrequited Love
-Longing
-Passion
what poems can you compare Loves Philosophy to?
-Farmers Bride (longing)
-When We Two Parted (pain)
-Winter Swans (nature)
-Letters from Yorkshire (love, longing)
quotes about romantic love + longing + obsession?
’all things by a law divine’
’the winds of Heaven mix forever’
-religious connotations suggest that the relationship is pre-ordained and his love interest should not go against God’s wishes.
-By making divine allusions, they intensify the obsessive persuasion, suggesting that their separation defy divine natural order.
Shelley could be using religion to make his point more persuasive. He was a known atheist, so would not care about “law divine”, hence showing his willingness by making an assertion of the purity of his intentions.
quotes about nature?
’the fountains mingle with the river’
-personifying love as a natural force
’and the rivers with the ocean’
-enjambment from previous line mirroring flow of water which could symbolise physical joining of individuals
-sense of joining and connection
’and the waves clasp one another’
-waves only clasp temporarily, he’s addicted to the high of romance rather than something permanent
-personifying nature & its natural interconnectedness, poem parallels argument that rejecting this interconnection would be unnatural, disrupting the cycle and harmony of nature’s processes.
Form
FORM - The poem is short and apparently simple - the narrator believes that what he’s saying is a simple truth. The poem has a regular ABAB rhyme scheme, but two lines in each stanza don’t fully rhyme - this reflects the way that all of nature is in harmony except for the narrator and his loved one.
Language about nature
LANGUAGE ABOUT NATURE - The narrator uses personification to show the natural world giving, receiving and benefitting from love - this emphasises his point that love itself is natural and necessary.
Repetition
REPETITION - Repetition is used to show how everything in nature repeatedly connects with everything else. Repeating words such as “mingle”, “kiss” and “clasp” emphasises the physical relationship he wants.
