loves philosophy Flashcards
Themes?
Longing, Unrequited Love, Nature
Tones?
Frustration, Playfulness
Context
-Shelley was a Romantic poet. Romanticism was huge
movement in 18th and 19th century literature, whereby
writers focused on the power of (and connections
between) human emotion and the natural world.
-The poem was first published in 1819.
-Shelley’s use of religion as a persuasive technique in
the poem is ironic as he was an atheist (didn’t believe
in God), a highly controversial viewpoint in the 19th
Century.
Content, Meaning and Purpose
-This is a very persuasive poem, where the speaker
tries to convince a love interest that she should be
with him.
-It starts by emphasising how all things in the world are
mingled and mixed, and that nothing is single.
-He then draws on religious imagery and the ‘law
divine’ to warn her that their relationship is God’s
wish, and that she cannot possibly deny him.
Language
-‘Nothing in the world is single’: conveys how she
cannot possibly be alone.
-‘mountains kiss high heaven’, ‘mountains clasp one
another’: personification of nature compares his love
to the natural world and laws of the universe.
-‘All things by a law divine’: religious connotations
suggest that the relationship is pre-ordained and his
love interest should not go against God’s wishes.
‘No sister-flower would be forgiven/If it disdain’d its
brother’: he suggests that God will not forgive her if
she does not accept and return his love.
Form and Structure
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.
