How Do Poets Present Love from a Romantic Perspective in the Poems, “Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds”, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” and “Piano”?
“Romantic” – this word holds many different connotations and brings to mind a collection of different images. It can be “fanciful, impractical, unrealistic”; it can be “ardent, passionate, fervent”; and it can be “imaginary, fictitious, or fabulous”. According to the dictionary, “romantic” is an adjective characterized by a preoccupation with love, or by the idealizing of love or one’s beloved. In the three poems I have chosen – “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” by William Shakespeare, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” by John Keats and “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence, the poets use a variety of linguistic and literary devices, as well as explore different themes and imagery, to present love from a “romantic” perspective. The “romance” portrayed in the three poems may be distinct to each other, but is without a doubt something that idealizes love, that elevates the subject of love onto a pedestal. The poems “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” by William Shakespeare, “First Love” by John Clare and “Remember” by Christina Rossetti also depict love in a romantic light. I will examine exactly how the poets do it – how the poets ingeniously present love from a romantic perspective in their poems.
Firstly, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” – also known as Sonnet 116 – is one of the most famous in William Shakespeare’s collection of sonnets. It demonstrates the glory and invincibility of love, and is a poem addressed to a mysterious “Fair Youth”. The sonnet proposes the idea that true love will always persevere, regardless of any obstacles or troubles that may come. Shakespeare employs various literary and linguistic devices to present love from a romantic perspective and portray it in a divine light.
Shakespeare uses metaphors and imagery to idealize love, presenting the subject romantically. The lines “It is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken” and “the star to every wandering bark” portray love as a permanent guide, something
Firstly, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” – also known as Sonnet 116 – is one of the most famous in William Shakespeare’s collection of sonnets. It demonstrates the glory and invincibility of love, and is a poem addressed to a mysterious “Fair Youth”. The sonnet proposes the idea that true love will always persevere, regardless of any obstacles or troubles that may come. Shakespeare employs various literary and linguistic devices to present love from a romantic perspective and portray it in a divine light.
Shakespeare uses metaphors and imagery to idealize love, presenting the subject romantically. The lines “It is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken” and “the star to every wandering bark” portray love as a permanent guide, something