Different Aspects of Love in Poetry
analytical Essay
943 words
Different Aspects of Love in Poetry
The metaphysical poems of pre 1914 explored the whole experience of
humans, which included love, politics, and how society was e.g. in
this era premarital relations were forbidden by the church, romance
and mans lust towards women. The poets used romance to represent other
deeper issues in a symbolic way, like in "To His Coy Mistress" or "The
Flea" where the poets use syllogistic arguments, which are usually
used in politics, and in these poems show what society then was like.
A lot of metaphysical poems usually contained accounts of how a woman
has lost her virginity before marriage which at that time was
considered a taboo subject as the women would have been ostracised
because the church believed that women should only ever have sex with
their husbands.
The poems I will talk about are "The Flea" by John Donne (1572-1631),
"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell (1621-78), "The Sick Rose" by
William Blake (1757-1827), "The Ruined Maid" by Thomas Hardy
(1840-1928) and "Upon Julia's Clothes" by Robert Herrick (1591-1674).
The different aspects of love I will explore may include: Physical
aspects of love and sex; the spiritual dimension of love, a
distinction between love and courtly praise; lasting love; jealousy
and possessiveness in obsessive relationships; betrayal; the different
ways in which women write about love from men and the feelings
experienced after the loss of a loved one.
In all of the poems love is a theme. Sex in the Elizabethan times was
taboo. The church forbade premarital relations of any sort. These
poems illustrate this. "The Flea" is about a man who is trying to
pe...
... middle of paper ...
...o she, by doing this is telling him no.
She obviously doesn't fall for his lies. He then tries to exploit her
guilt of killing the flea as he sees it as the only way for sex. He
turns his argument about the flea around. At first he describes the
flea as the lowest of the low, then he tries to make her feel guilty
by saying it was a poor helpless creature:
"Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?"
This shows he is trying to make her feel guilty by saying the flea was
innocent. It is also ironic with the "blood of innocence" which I
would have thought in this poem would have been the opposite as blood
from sex which it refers to is far from innocent.
In "The Ruined Maid" we find a poem which is yet again about sex
before marriage. It suggests that having sex before marriage could be
very beneficial to a woman.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that fleas have both of their bloods inside them.
- Analyzes how he is trying to get her to sleep with him. he is saying as they have already.
- Analyzes how this poem shows he sees her as sex. it shows the lust of the poet.
- Analyzes how the poem warns us that if you do, you will put off women from it.
- Analyzes how in "to his coy mistress"marvell shows us a man who is trying to rush
- Analyzes how the poem shows a man's love for the woman.
- Explains the man's lust for a woman and the lengths that he would go to get sex.
- Analyzes how he is saying to her that sleeping with him isn't a sin nor is it.
- Analyzes how he sees killing the flea as the only way for sex.
- Analyzes how flea as the lowest of the low, then he tries to make her feel guilty.
- Analyzes how he is trying to make her feel guilty by saying the flea was a nuisance.
- Opines that love is a theme in all of the poems. sex in the elizabethan times was the theme.
- Opines that if she did have sex with him, it would be no crime for her, when in fact it wouldn't be a crime as she would have been.
Related
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- John Donne The Flea Toneanalytical essayThe flea is a vessel that symbolizes union, in this case the physical union between the speaker and the woman through sexual intercourse and the exchange of bodily fluids. It is impo...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the erotic qualities of the flea and the jealousy the speaker has of this insignificant existence.
- Analyzes how the speaker takes the flea conceit one step further by using it as a symbol of their nonexistent marriage.
- Analyzes how the speaker is incredibly tenacious and acknowledges the fallacy within his argument, which utilized the flea.
- Analyzes how donne uses the flea throughout his poem as an essential link between sexual conquest and union.
- Analyzes how john donne's poem, "the flea," uses the conceit of the flea to contrast the insignificant size of it and incredibly significant metaphor attached to it.
- Analyzes how the final stanza addresses the woman's main concern: her innocence, which is an extremely controversial act that mars her identity in society for the rest of her life.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how john donne's "the flea" is a persuasive poem in which the speaker attempts to establish sexual union with his significant other.
- Analyzes how the speaker suggests that through the flea the two are married. the woman crushes it, refusing his request, and states neither she nor he is weakened by its death.
- Analyzes how donne uses rhythm to shape the poem's meaning. he uses a pyrrhic foot over "but" and "this" to emphasize the flea.
- Analyzes how donne's rhyme scheme plays an important role in the meaning of the poem.
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In this essay, the author
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- Analyzes how freeman's choices make this an easy to read story that appeals to all readers at all different skill levels.
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In this essay, the author
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In this essay, the author
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- Analyzes how crane eloquently portrays the harsh realities of the life of african-americans in the post-civil war era through unexpected, yet delicate character symbols and objects.
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In this essay, the author
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2925 wordsRead More - Alcoholism In The Black Catanalytical essayThe narrator has a strong affection for animals that it is strongly affirmed when Poe writes “I was especially fond of animals, and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of them” (695). The husband turns to drinking and it becomes the root of all things problematic in his life. The narrator’s alcoholism leads the husband to make bad decisions, like mistreating his wife, and even his dear animals. It is evident that the narrator loves his animals, ironically, he ends up harming them, especially Pluto, and ends up killing him. Oddly enough, the husband blames Pluto for the horrible things occurring in his life, which, according to Hester, brings into question the husband’s reliability (Hester, Segir 176). This is all a result of the husband’s new lifestyle. The timing of his confession about his disease and its consequences of is also questionable. Why would someone, who says they feel remorse, wait till the eve of his death to confess to the crime? The husband says that he “experienced a sentiment of half of horror, half of remorse, for the crime of which I had been guilty” (696). What does this statement say about the husband? Is he unattached to life and his feeling that he does not care about the repercussions of his
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- Analyzes how poe writes about dark and unthinkable crimes that are committed by the narrators of the story.
- Analyzes how poe's "the black cat" is about a narrator who has an affection for animals, and his alcoholism leads him to make bad decisions like mistreating his wife and even his dear animals.
- Analyzes how poe's description of montresor, the narrator of "the cask of amontillado," leads readers to assume that he is a deceiving and manipulative individual.
- Explains that crime is an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law.
- Analyzes how the husband in "the black cat" murders his beloved cat, pluto, and wife because of alcoholism. both were fueled by an obsession that seemed to consume the murderers.
- Analyzes how montresor's crime in "the cask of amontillado" was committed solely for revenge, but there could be more suspects to add to the list of motives.
1561 wordsRead More - Miss Julieanalytical essayIn Miss Julie, by August Strindberg wrote about the naturalistic view of human behavior. He symbolizes the behavior through animal imagery. The animal image Strindberg uses helps him exemplify his naturalistic view. The first animal imagery Strindberg uses is the dog. Jean uses the dog imagery to describe to Kristen how Miss Julie made her ex-fiancé act before the break-up. “ Why, she was making him jump over her riding whip the way you teach a dog to jump.” A dog is mans best friend only because a dog is an extremely loyal animal. Having Jean compare what Miss Julies did to her ex-fiancé with what some one would do to a dog shows Miss Julies drive to be the dominant one or the master. Strindberg again uses the imagery of a dog when he has Miss Julie say, “dog who wears my collar” to Jean. Miss Julie feels that her social status is so much superior to that of Jean that their relationship could be compared to that of a master and his dog. The dog imagery in the play is also used to demonstrate the difference in social classes. In the play Miss Julie’s dog, Diana, is impregnated by the lodge-keepers pug. Kristen demonstrates Miss Julie’s disgust when she says; “She almost had poor Diana shot for running after the lodge-keepers pug.” The sexual affair between the dogs also represents the sexual affair between Jean and Miss Julie and how the two of them look down on each other. Jean looks down on Miss Julie for being surprisingly easy to obtain. While Miss Julie loo...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how august strindberg symbolizes the naturalistic view of human behavior through animal imagery.
- Analyzes how jean looks down on miss julie for being surprisingly easy to obtain, while comparing himself to a mad dog. strindberg uses imagery of horses to illustrate jean's physical stature.
- Analyzes how strindberg uses the imagery of a hawk after jean and miss julie are intimate.
830 wordsRead More