English Lit 6 Poem Essay
‘Compare the treatment of love in some of the poems you have studied ’
Poem at Thirty-nine,
My last Duchess,
Remember,
Anne Hathaway,
Havisham
On my first Sonne.
Poets have written love poems for centuries with the first said to be around 1000BC. But what is love? It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘ to have attachment to and affection for’. However, after studying various love poems, I have found that love is portrayed in many different ways. It can be possessive, hateful and pure and the fact that William Shakespeare said ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ suggests that love is more complicated than a simple dictionary definition.
‘Remember’ is in the form of an Italian sonnet in which Christina Rossetti focuses on the grief faced by the living after their loved one has died. In her case, she is telling her partner not to grieve and continue with his life. In the poem Rossetti uses the euphemisms ‘gone away’ and ‘silent land’ to suggest the potential death of the persona. The ‘silent land’ implies that she will not be able to contact, or communicate with, her partner anymore which shows the finality and separation in their relationship suggesting that love must end. This idea is reinforced when the persona says ‘When you can no longer hold me by the hand’ which suggests he will miss their closeness. Rossetti uses the repetition ‘day by day’, to emphasise the all-encompassing nature of their relationship which is further highlighted through the use of rhyme in the words ‘day’ and ‘stay’. This may also imply that her partner will find it hard to bear the pain of losing her as he remembers her on a daily basis. On the other hand, the ‘silent land’ has connotations of peace and heaven, where she may prefer to be. In this way, Rossetti presents the end of earthly love in two ways: one is that it will be a relief for her because her partner was dominating and the other that her partner will miss her. Rossetti evokes the idea of
Poem at Thirty-nine,
My last Duchess,
Remember,
Anne Hathaway,
Havisham
On my first Sonne.
Poets have written love poems for centuries with the first said to be around 1000BC. But what is love? It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘ to have attachment to and affection for’. However, after studying various love poems, I have found that love is portrayed in many different ways. It can be possessive, hateful and pure and the fact that William Shakespeare said ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ suggests that love is more complicated than a simple dictionary definition.
‘Remember’ is in the form of an Italian sonnet in which Christina Rossetti focuses on the grief faced by the living after their loved one has died. In her case, she is telling her partner not to grieve and continue with his life. In the poem Rossetti uses the euphemisms ‘gone away’ and ‘silent land’ to suggest the potential death of the persona. The ‘silent land’ implies that she will not be able to contact, or communicate with, her partner anymore which shows the finality and separation in their relationship suggesting that love must end. This idea is reinforced when the persona says ‘When you can no longer hold me by the hand’ which suggests he will miss their closeness. Rossetti uses the repetition ‘day by day’, to emphasise the all-encompassing nature of their relationship which is further highlighted through the use of rhyme in the words ‘day’ and ‘stay’. This may also imply that her partner will find it hard to bear the pain of losing her as he remembers her on a daily basis. On the other hand, the ‘silent land’ has connotations of peace and heaven, where she may prefer to be. In this way, Rossetti presents the end of earthly love in two ways: one is that it will be a relief for her because her partner was dominating and the other that her partner will miss her. Rossetti evokes the idea of