Love's Philosophy Flashcards
Written by
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Written in
1820
Shelley’s style
Romantic - emphasis on emotion and nature
Layout
Simple - two octaves - he thinks what he is saying is a simple truth
Rhyme
ABAB throughout - couplets emphasise his belief they should be a couple
Half rhyme quotes
‘river’ ‘ever’ and ‘heaven’ ‘forgiven’
Significance of half rhyme
Reflects how the couple aren’t in harmony like nature
Enjambment significance
Reflects endless flow of nature
Structure
6-7 confident assertions followed by a rhetorical question
Significance of rhetorical question
Five monosyllabic words - stands out, juxtaposing the narrator’s situation with nature
Rhythm
No particular meter - highlights the wild, uncontrollable flow of nature
’-‘
emphasises both questions - interrupts the flow of nature
Imagery
Mainly natural
How is imagery used
Relates the situation of the narrator to nature, suggesting to his lover they should be like nature
‘Fountains’
From the start of line 1 nature is flowing, highlights how nature is all around them
‘Mingle’
An active verb - mingling requires more desire than simply mixing (relates to his longing)
‘Fountains’, ‘river’, ‘ocean’
Imagery scales up - loving him would make her part of something bigger than herself
‘Sweet emotion’
Assures the lover nature likes all the mingling - she should too
‘Sunlight’, ‘moonbeams’
Even Sun and Moon are connected - flow of nature is far-reaching
‘What is all this sweet work worth’
Hyperbolic question - implies he thinks love is the meaning of life - hyperbole makes it more persuasive, conveying how deeply he is attracted to her
Main effect of repetition
Conveys continuous unison in nature
‘Mingle’, ‘kiss’, ‘clasp’
Repeated to convey the physical relationship he desires
‘And’
Repetition highlights the number of reasons he can give her
‘Clasp’ and ‘kiss’
Repeated in the opposite order - they mirror each other as the couple should mirror nature
Shelley and religion
He was atheist - use of religious language highlights the extent to which he desires her as he abandons his views to persuade her (he had a relatively lonely childhood as a result of his shocking views at the time so he may be using religious language to disguise his views from her incase she reacts badly)
‘Law divine’
Everything in nature mingles and no human can change it - she is going against God
‘no sister-flower would be forgiven’
His lover’s lack of love is unforgivable - he will forgive even if God won’t, highlighting how Shelley goes against religious beliefs
‘Thine’
Singular pronoun - refers to one person - she is his true love
‘Mountains… and the waves’
Goes from high to low - unity is all around them
‘Sweet’
Love is calm and relaxing, not crazy
‘Love’s Philosophy’
Shelley thinks he is aware of what love truly is which makes his assertions seem more reliable
