The Theme Of Freedom In Derek Walcott's Love After Love

Derek Walcott’s Love after love explores the problem of self-acceptance. The poem encourages people to recognise and make peace with previous rejections, denials, embarrassments, judgements and abandonments of their own personal lives. People tends to savour just the good part of life while being so ashamed of the darkest parts of it. Not even acknowledging its existence means resulting to live in a life of lie. This poems tries to make everyone learn to accept all aspects of life. Not just the good bits but accept the whole thing fully. The darkness when brought to light is what is going to help a human being to fine tune our inner balance and to make a person become whole again. The poem suggest that learning to love others begin with learning

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,” (4th stanza)

All of this gives the poem a very loose and unrestrained structure which is very well-suited to the theme of the poem the re-connection with the inner self and the sense of freedom to explore one’s inner self after becoming free from the distractions of one’s life. In addition, by having this kind of rhyme scheme, we could pause little by little and contemplate on how every stanza or verse can be incorporated in everyday living. To summarize, having a sense of freedom is the key to embracing one’s inner self.

In conclusion, self-acceptance always starts with one’s self begin one could even begin to love others. Before even going out and spreading the love, a person should always try to look in the mirror to reflect a bit and see the flaws, try to share the joy like the genuine joy that we get when eating and last but not the least, have a sense of freedom to actually explore one’s self. Everyone has a persona that is presented to the world. This real self lies beneath the masks that we put on to lead our public life. In this hectic life, everyone forget the masks that we put on for other people are not the true versions at all. This poem is about rediscovering our true selves. Finally encountering true selves in all its nakedness, it is only then that one’s identity is revealed. The poem inspires the lost souls to regain themselves, for life is not