Love Is An Abstract Emotion And Can Produce Conflicting Feelings Essay Example

compares her abstract love to something tangible, stating "I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight." Similarly, Clare expresses his intense emotions through metaphors in 'First Love', proclaiming "And stole my heart away complete." Both poets employ similes and metaphors as strong language techniques to depict love as something solid and relatable.

In the poem's conclusion, Clare extends the metaphor, stating, "My heart has left its dwelling place and can return no more." Clare employs this repetition to exaggerate the significance of his heart's position. This repetition ultimately serves to emphasize the profound transformation that love has brought upon him. Furthering this intensity, Clare deploys personification, depicting his emotions through the line, "And then my blood rushed to my face." By personifying his feelings, Clare renders them tangible and powerful for the reader.

Browning utilizes similes in a powerful and figurative manner to emphasize the nature of her love. In the line "I love thee freely, as men strive for Right," she expresses the freedom and willingness she feels in loving this person. Additionally, the word 'Right' hints at altruism and reinforces the sincerity of their mutual love, which she holds confidentially. Similarly, Clare employs rhetorical questions in his poem, though the effects they create differ. In "First Love," the rhetorical questions "Are flowers the winters choice? Is love's bed always snow?" introduce doubt and uncertainty.

Clare and Browning employ various literary devices and metaphors to communicate the depth and nature of their love. While Clare metaphorically associates flowers and snow with the impossibility of love, Browning uses a rhetorical question, "How do I love thee?", to express the

unwavering strength of her love.

'First Love' and 'How Do I Live Thee' employ contrasting approaches to utilize imagery in order to express varied concepts. In particular, one line from 'First Love' reads, "Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower." In this instance, Clare draws a comparison between his beloved's face and elements of the natural world. It is widely understood that nature symbolizes tranquility and unity. By utilizing the imagery of a flower as a representation of nature, Clare effectively conveys the serene emotions he experiences upon encountering her visage.

Clare employs music as a metaphor for love and joy, as depicted in the line "They spoke like chords do from the string". By using chords, he showcases the expressive nature of music. Additionally, through the phrase "Trees and bushes round the place seemed midnight at noonday", Clare incorporates gothic and supernatural elements to convey the intense emotions experienced when in love.

The passage suggests that Clare perceives a complete reversal of his world, conveying the profound impact of this love on him. However, Clare's imagery is not entirely positive; he not only portrays the positive aspects of love but also acknowledges its potential negative consequences. As exemplified by the phrase "Stole my heart away," Clare associates a feeling of loss with his love. This reveals to the reader that the love lacks strength, and Clare lacks faith in its durability.

In his poem, Clare uses imagery to express the mixed emotions of loss, death, and sickness caused by love. Browning, on the other hand, conveys the grandness of her love through the use of moral values like 'Praise' and 'Right', rather than tangible objects. She

compares the significance of her love to abstract principles to emphasize its magnitude.

The significance of writing the words with a capital letter at the beginning demonstrates Browning's prominence of these ethics and her personal appreciation for them. "..." - I love thee with the breath, Smiles and tears, of all my life!" Browning employs triple emphasis here to convey the immense strength of her love. By utilizing repetition, the reader comprehends that she loves him with every aspect of her life's experiences. As demonstrated, both poets employ language to express their emotions concerning love.

However, we can understand these emotions by examining the tone of each poem. In 'First Love', tone is utilized to depict the transformations one undergoes when in love. 'I ne'er was struck before that hourWith love so sudden and so sweet'. In this passage, the poet conveys a highly joyful and ecstatic atmosphere through the use of passive verbs. Nonetheless, the entire mood shifts when Clare starts employing uncertain phrases. 'Are flowers the winters choice?' By using these phrases, Clare instills a feeling of doubt within the poem.

This is due to his attempt to utilize impossibilities as a representation of his chances of ever being with his lover. Nonetheless, the poem takes a different direction and becomes more optimistic. 'She appeared to perceive my quiet voice and understand love's plea'. As evident, the poem becomes more stable and a slight glimmer of hope is introduced. However, the overall tone of the poem is not completely positive and it does encompass elements of uncertainty.

The three quotes mentioned above suggest that the overall tone of the poem is unstable and imbalanced. The poet

also evokes sympathy as there is uncertainty about whether his love is reciprocated or unrequited. In contrast, 'How Do I Love Thee?' presents a diverse tone as Clare explores how his love has impacted him, while Browning portrays the intensity of her own love. "I love thee to depth, breadth and heightMy soul can reach" captures the poet's defiant and arrogant tone when expressing her love.

Browning conveys her profound love by comparing it to the love she lost with her saints. She further illustrates the intensity of her love by asserting that it is even more cherished to her than her religious devotion. This highlights the immense depth of her affection, as she seemingly prioritizes her lover over her faith. Browning also expresses that she loves her partner with the innocence and unquestioning devotion of a child, reminiscent of her past sorrows and youthful beliefs.

To add to the intensity, Browning expresses in her poem 'And if God choose, I will love you better after death' that even death cannot separate her from this love, challenging God. This demonstrates the strong attachment the poet feels towards this person and the unwavering, boisterous tone she carries in relation to her love. This differs greatly from 'First Love' as it maintains a steadfast and positive tone throughout the entire poem. In contrast, Clare structures his poem with a regular rhyme scheme to make sense of a confusing and upside-down experience. Phrases such as "Trees and bushes round the place seemed midnight at noonday" convey Clare's perception of confusion. Additionally, Clare employs colors that symbolize love.

Clare depicts the color white in the first verse, such as when he says'My

face turned pale, as deadly pale'. Conversely, the second verse portrays the color red in a violent manner. For instance, 'And blood burnt round my face'. Lastly, the color white returns as a symbol in the final verse of the poem with the line 'Is love's bed always snow'.

Clare contrasts with Browning's use of colors to convey love, as Browning does not employ this technique in her poem 'How Do I Love Thee?'. However, similar to 'First love', Browning utilizes a consistent rhyme scheme, opting for a petrachan sonnet format. This choice may serve to highlight the sense of control and stability she conveys in the poem. In contrast, Christina Rossetti symbolically employs the title 'A Birthday'. Birthdays are associated with joy and happiness, representing unique and cherished moments in one's life.

In this way, Rossetti attempts to convey the unique and special nature of her love, comparing it to the joyous celebration of a birthday. The choice of such a figurative title not only informs the reader about the subject matter, but also sets the mood and tone for the poem. Rossetti structures the poem into two octaves, with the first octave utilizing repetition and similes to highlight the state of her heart. By repeating the aforementioned quote three times and employing different similes each time, Rossetti emphasizes her emotions. The images used in the first octave all revolve around nature, with Rossetti likening her heart to a singing bird whose nest resides in a watered shoot.

The prevailing images are of perfection and represent the state of her heart, which is at its best. These images reflect Rossetti's joyful and radiant feelings. 'My

heart is gladder than all theseBecause my love is come to me.' Rossetti creates tension and suspense by delaying the revelation of the cause for her joy until the end of the first octave, in lines seven and eight. This technique effectively captures the reader's attention and motivates them to continue reading. In the second octave, the poet shifts from using repetition and explores her emotions in a different manner.

In this passage, Rossetti uses various types of imagery and language to express her intense love and desire. She describes wanting a lavish and luxurious setting, adorned with silk, down, vair, and purple dyes. These rich materials symbolize royalty and are meant to convey the worthiness of her love. Additionally, Rossetti includes exotic imagery such as doyes and pomegranates to add to the grandness and glamour she desires. Through her use of imperative language such as "Raise," "Hang," and "Carve," Rossetti conveys the power and grandness she feels in relation to her love. She believes her love deserves only the best and wants to indulge in opulence.

Furthermore, Rossetti creates a sense of urgency and pace through enjambment in the final two lines. She expresses that the "birthday of [her] life" has arrived and that her love has come to her. This urgency allows the reader to quickly understand the reason behind her intense emotions. Throughout the poem, Rossetti does not reveal who her love is, leaving the reader unknowing.

It is presumed that her love is given to a human, but the poet's choice of words suggests that this affection is actually directed towards a profound religious devotion. This can be observed in the imagery utilized by

Rossetti, such as the depiction of her heart being similar to a heavily laden apple tree. By employing nature, Rossetti portrays her delight in experiencing this love. However, as nature is also associated with God, Rossetti may be expressing her love not for any individual, but rather for God and religion.

The first octave of the poem uses imagery of idyllic nature, which can be assumed to be connected to God. For example, the line 'Hang it with vair and purple dyes' suggests a sense of beauty and grandness. In the second octave, the poet introduces imagery of royalty and richness, possibly to portray the greatness of God. The color purple, often associated with royalty and commonly used in churches, may symbolize that the love expressed in the poem is not worldly but rather religious in nature. In contrast, Robert Browning's dramatic monologue 'My Last Duchess' explores a possessive, jealous, and controlling love. Although the poem uses heroic couplets throughout, there is no added emphasis to the end of each line due to its speech-like format.

Browning structures his poem in a single continuous verse with numerous enjambments. The enjambments allow for uninterrupted reading of phrases such as 'That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking if she were alive. I call That piece a wonder, now'. This enhances the clarity and understanding of the phrase.

Nevertheless, Browning also employs caesuras to generate tension within the poem. '...This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together'. The use of caesuras in the semi-colons heightens the suspense by introducing pauses. Retrospectively, Browning composed this poem after encountering the story of the Duke of Ferrara (1537-1597), a

member of the influential Este family in Italy, who wedded a fourteen-year-old girl from an equally affluent family.

She died shortly after her marriage, with many people suspecting that she was murdered. According to the story, the Duke then chose to marry the daughter of the Count of Tyrol in Austria. Browning portrays this historical event centuries later, offering his own perspective on what might have transpired with the Duchess. In the poem, we learn that the Duke is a wealthy and power-hungry man. Unlike other poems, this one explores a love that is not for another person, but rather an obsession with control and earthly possessions.

'But to myself they turned (since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)' The Duke is speaking to an Austrian envoy who has come to arrange the marriage of the Count of Tyrol's daughter. The Duke shows the envoy a portrait of his late wife. Browning uses a harsh and self-centered tone to depict the Duke's character. The Duke asserts control over who can view his deceased wife; he determines whether someone is allowed to see her or not. It can be argued that the Duke is content with his wife's death because it gives him the power and influence over her that he desires. The poem reveals that the Duke is displeased with the idea of his wife finding happiness or satisfaction outside of their relationship.

The Duke believes that his wife should only be inspired by him. He is self-centered and wants to take away the joy his wife feels. He has a difficult time expressing his feelings and chooses not to stoop down

to discuss his dislikes with her. This is because he values his status and sees it as degrading to discuss such matters with her. The climax of the poem occurs when the Duke gives commands and all smiles stop completely.

It is evident that the Duke had no other solution to resolve this issue except for immediately killing his wife. This reveals the Duke's lack of regard for his wife and disregard for her emotions. Additionally, the Duke takes pleasure in showcasing his wealth and material possessions, as seen in his boastful mention of Neptune and the sea-horse, which were bronze sculptures made by Claus of Innsbruck specifically for him. These sculptures not only represent his riches but could also signify the Duke's desire to dominate and control his wife, similar to how Neptune tames the sea-horse.

There is a clever portrayal by Browning to alert the reader of the true character of the Duke. In addition, considering the history of this poem reveals further details and allows understanding of the veiled warnings that the Duke may be dropping to the envoy. By discussing the consequences faced by the Duchess, the Duke might be cautioning the Count about not wanting the same fate for his future wife.