Love's Philosophy

Question 1

Form

Answer 1

The poem is short and apparently simple -the narrator believes that what he is 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 all nature is in harmony except for the narrator and his loved one.

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

The poem is 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.

Question 3

Language about nature.

Answer 3

The narrator uses personification to show the natural world giving, receiving and benefitting from love - this emphasises his point that love is natural and necessary: ‘See the mountains kiss high heaven| And the waves clasp one another;’.

Question 4

Repetition

Answer 4

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 that he wants.

Question 5

Religious language

Answer 5

Language to do with God suggests that love isn’t just natural, it is also godly: ‘All things by law divine’. This implies that the narrator thinks that it is God’s law that everything in nature mingles together.

Question 6

Tone

Answer 6

The poem reflects the longing that the narrator feels. He is frustrated that his love isn’t returned when he sees the bonds that exist in nature. It also has a playful tone . The narrator oversimplifies the idea that because all things in nature come together, so should he and the woman.

Question 7

Which poem to compare it with?

Answer 7

You could compare the poem with ‘Sonnet 29 -I think of thee’ and compare the ways that the authors use natural imagery to express desires.