Love’s Philosophy (AQA GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem - printed in full - and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:
The meaning of the poem
The ideas and messages of the poet
How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology
Below is a guide to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Love’s Philosophy, from the Love and Relationships anthology. It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam
Overview
In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
The poem in a nutshell
A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Shelley’s intention and message
Love’s Philosophy in a Nutshell
Love’s Philosophy, written by the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1820, conveys typical Romantic themes relating to the power of the natural world and intense emotion, in this case, unrequited love. In the poem, Shelley’s speaker shows the complex nature of relationships as he tries to seduce a potential lover.
Love’s Philosophy overview
Lines 1-2
“The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the Ocean,”
Translation
The poem begins with an image relating to water: rivers and oceans and fountains mixing together
Shelley’s intention
Shelley’s poem begins with typical Romantic imagery relating to the natural world
Shelley shows nature as harmonious
Lines 3-4
“The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;”
Translation
Shelley now describes the wind mixing with the skies (“Heaven”)
He describes this as pleasant, emotional and endless
Shelley’s intention
Here, Shelley links nature and emotion, creating a sensual mood
The lines introduce religious imagery to strengthen his philosophical debate
Lines 5-7
“Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one spirit meet and mingle.”
Translation
The speaker explains that everything occurs as part of something else
He asserts it is a holy rule of nature that things come together and become one
Shelley’s intention
These lines link to the title of the poem, Love’s Philosophy, as Shelley’s speaker asserts a simple message that love is governed by a sacred law of nature
Shelley alludes to Romantic ideas of the spiritual nature of love
Line 8
“Why not I with thine?—”
Translation
Here, the speaker directly addresses a silent listener in a persuasive appeal
He asks a question to his potential lover: if nature naturally “mingles” then why not the two of them?
Shelley’s intention
The change in rhythm stresses Shelley’s question and suggests the desperation of unrequited love
Lines 9-10
“See the mountains kiss high heaven
And the waves clasp one another;”
Translation
The speaker instructs the listener to look at how the mountains and the sky touch, and how the waves seem to be embracing
Shelley’s intention
Here, Shelley’s speaker directs the listener to see nature linked to intimate, physical love
Lines 11-12
“No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;”
Translation
The speaker seems to be suggesting that the sister-flower is the listener and he is the brother
He suggests strongly that it would be sinful to turn him away
Shelley’s intention
The speaker again argues that love is natural and innocent using natural imagery and allusion to siblings
Shelley again refers to morality to strengthen his persuasive argument
Lines 13-14
“And the sunlight clasps the earth
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:”
Translation
The speaker presents another reason for the listener to kiss him
He explains the sun and the earth are connected in the same way as the moonlight shines on the ocean
Shelley’s intention
The speaker describes powerful contrasting imagery to show the natural connection between day and night
Shelley connects the sensual imagery of nature with love to show love’s simple and natural nature
Lines 15-16
“What is all this sweet work worth
If thou kiss not me?”
Translation
Shelley’s poem ends with a rhetorical question to close the speaker’s argument
The speaker argues that all the work nature does (and that he has done persuading them) would be wasted if they do not kiss him
Shelley’s intention
The rhetorical question is ambiguous to end his persuasion with a playful, yet desperate tone
Although the speaker’s argument describes love as simple and natural, the poem ends unresolved, suggesting the complex nature of his love
Writer’s Methods
Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have.
Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Shelley’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:
Form
The speaker’s seduction of his prospective lover by showing everything as connected and paired is reflected in the harmonious two stanza structure. The regular rhyme indicates a controlled and considered tone as the speaker makes his desperate plea.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Unrequited love | The ballad form is often used to convey intense emotion | Shelley’s ballad form conveys an emotional tone which reflects themes regarding unrequited love |
The poem consists of two simple and regular stanzas, which mirror each other | The form reflects the poem’s Romantic themes relating to physical love being natural, and Shelley’s comment on pairings in nature | |
Love's Philosophy is written in a trochaic meter: a pattern of stressed then unstressed syllables with each stanza containing a pair of alternately-rhymed quatrains | The rhythm and the rhyme gives the poem a hypnotic, lyrical quality, suggestive of the seductive nature of the poem |
Structure
The poem follows a complex argument which shows the speaker’s manipulative control as he persuades his listener to give in to desire.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Complex relationships | The poem’s form, a persuasive argument, explores the complex nature of unrequited love
| The poem shows the nature of consent in relationships as the speaker’s controlled and logical argument attempts to persuade someone to kiss him |
| The first person speaker directly addresses the silent listener using rhetorical questions at the end of stanzas for impact Shelley’s poem takes on the form of two long sentences with pauses for dramatic effect | The speaker’s persistence is shown through the repeated rhetorical questions which challenge the listener’s sense of reason and morality Shelley’s dramatic persuasion shows the nature of seduction as unrelenting for the listener |
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Language
Shelley’s poem, Love’s Philosophy, symbolises nature as loving and harmonious in a bid to persuade a potential partner to see love as a law of nature. His philosophical language mixes with natural imagery and physical imagery to present these ideas as connected.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Longing | The poem’s semantic field of physical imagery attempts to compare the way nature behaves with the way humans behave: The mountains “kiss” heaven, the waves “clasp one another” and the moonbeams and sunlight kiss and embrace too | Typical of Romantic poetry, Shelley personifies nature to show its power |
The affectionate relationship between the natural elements is repeated throughout the poem to persuade the listener that physical love is natural and beautiful | ||
Shelley’s imagery suggests physical intimacy creates harmony | ||
The narrator uses philosophical language related to morality: He asserts that everything is governed by a divine law that forbids isolation and encourages intimacy | Shelley’s narrator asks a silent listener to kiss him, using elevated language connoting to religion | |
The archaic language, “thine” and “thou” elevates what is a simple request to present complexity in love | His sophisticated argument suggests if his listener refuses, it would be unnatural and sinful: the hyperbolic argument highlights the narrator’s desperate desire and longing | |
Shelley makes an elaborate and dramatic argument which alludes to spirituality and intimacy in a bid to persuade his listener to submit to him, highlighting themes of longing and desire in relationships | ||
Context
Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Percy Bysshe Shelley or the Romantic movement which is unrelated to the ideas in Love’s Philosophy. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Shelley in Love’s Philosophy that relate to love and relationships. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Shelley explores:
Unrequited Love
Love’s Philosophy, by Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was written in 1820
Romantic poets wrote about the power of nature at a time when science and industry were advancing rapidly: this was seen as rebellious
In this poem, Shelley’s Romantic philosophies about nature are used to seduce a reluctant listener into a physical relationship which mimics nature
Romantic poets believe in the importance of emotion, freedom and self-fulfilment
This poem encourages the listener to abandon themselves to physical pleasure
It argues that the physical nature of intimacy is a natural law in order to convince a listener to surrender to his kiss, very typical of Romantic philosophies
Complex relationships
Shelley was considered revolutionary for his ideas about the world, including atheism
His poem shows the complex nature of relationships by using traditional, archaic language (which suggests a sense of conformity) to elevate his argument, and philosophise about love
His reference to religion and law adds weight to his sophisticated plea
This is more typical of traditional love poetry which was melodramatic and often presented love as complex and painful
Shelley’s poem mixes the form of a traditional ballad with a persuasive argument to show the complexity of relationships
By using the rhythm of a ballad Shelley’s tone becomes emotional
However, the poem’s form takes on a logical argument in a bid to influence the listener with rationale, in opposition to Romantic ideals
What to Compare it to
The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that Love’s Philosophy explores the ideas of complex relationships, romantic love and desire, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:
For each pair of poems, you will find:
The comparison in a nutshell
Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences
Love’s Philosophy and Porphyria’s Lover
Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Shelley’s Love’s Philosophy and Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover convey the speaker’s intense feelings, as well as a sense of intention and power, in their response to desire. However, Shelley’s speaker explores natural abandonment and the power of unity, while Browning’s obsessive narrator depicts possessive and destructive love.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems suggest complex responses to feelings of desire | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | Porphyria’s Lover |
Shelley’s first-person speaker adopts a composed tone as he persuades a silent listener to engage in a physical relationship and surrender to desire:
| Similarly, Browning’s first person dramatic monologue speaks of surrender to desire with a silent lover
| |
Shelley’s speaker uses religious imagery to add weight to the argument that desire is natural
| Similarly, Browning’s speaker employs religious imagery to justify desire
| |
However, at times Shelley’s speaker presents a loss of control, indicating intense and overwhelming emotion | The speaker in Porphyria’s Lover also presents overpowering emotion leading to a loss of control
| |
The repetition of “And” to introduce each reason for the physical relationship brings a desperation to his voice | ||
The complex emotions of desire are presented in both poems with speakers who are, at times, composed and manipulative, and at other times, emotional and out of control | ||
Both poets comment on ideas related to consent and power related to desire in relationships | ||
Topic sentence | Both poets convey intense emotions in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | Porphyria’s Lover |
Shelley’s poem evokes powerful natural imagery relating to nature and its physical relationship: “No sister-flower would be forgiven” | Browning’s poem, similarly, uses natural imagery which he connects with his emotions for his lover: “As a shut bud that holds a bee” | |
Shelley presents nature as powerfully connected to his feelings of love and desire:
| Browning, too, evokes nature’s power to represent his own intense emotions by personifying nature, like Shelley does:
| |
Both poets convey their strong feelings related to romantic love and desire by showing their connections with nature as powerful and emotional | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While Shelley’s poem connects love with freedom and harmony, Browning’s poem illustrates destructive disharmony in relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | Porphyria’s Lover |
In Love’s Philosophy, the speaker depicts harmony within nature in a bid to convince his lover that humans should, equally, engage in physical and natural love | In Porphyria’s Lover, however, the speaker describes disharmony within nature as he shows his own destructive response to physical love | |
Shelley conveys Romantic themes of love as a unifying force, and presents physical desire as liberating:
| Here, however, love and physical desire is presented as controlling and possessive:
| |
Shelley’s speaker is concerned about the freedom of physical love and suggests desire is a natural law, whereas Browning’s speaker illustrates an immoral and possessive attitude to love | ||
Love’s Philosophy and Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’
Comparison in a nutshell:
This is an effective comparative choice to explore desire and longing within complex romantic relationships. Both Shelley’s Love Philosophy and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ consider physical unity as a natural part of love, and present strong emotions when this is denied them.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems show longing as a result of denied physical love in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ |
A first-person speaker presents an emotional argument to convince a silent lover to engage in a kiss | Similarly, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s first-person speaker conveys strong intense emotions in a romantic sonnet which forms a single monologue and is dedicated to a silent listener | |
Shelley’s speaker conveys frustrated and intense emotion through a passionate and desperate tone: “Why not I with thine?” | The speaker here conveys similar frustration with broken lines: “I think of thee” | |
The poem evokes natural imagery in an extended metaphor comparing the way nature harmonises and unites in love | Elizabeth Barrett Browning, too, uses natural imagery in an extended metaphor which connects the power of love with the power of nature | |
The poets comment on the overwhelming power of physical love within romantic relationships, and how the lack of it leads to unstable emotions and longing | ||
Topic sentence | Both poems comment on the desire for physical unity in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ |
Shelley alludes to physical love as the natural order of things:
| Similarly, Elizabeth Barrett Browning comments on the nature of physical unity within romantic relationships as natural:
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The poem suggests physical intimacy as a law of nature:
| Elizabeth Barrett Browning also considers physical intimacy as natural:
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She calls for the physical presence of her lover:
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The poets suggest physical intimacy within romantic relationships is natural and inevitable | ||
Shelley’s poem could be considered a traditional love poem, however, despite Barrett Browning’s traditional form, it would not be typical for the speaker to be a woman frustrated with desire, and thus, her poem challenges typical gender roles in relationships | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While Shelley leaves his speaker’s physical desire unresolved, Elizabeth Barrett Browning presents a solution to her longing for physical intimacy | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ |
The poem ends on a desperate, unanswered rhetorical question, suggesting the speaker is left frustrated | However, the sonnet ends with a sense of resolution: “I do not think of thee - I am too near thee.” | |
Shelley’s poem is a continuous and relentless argument, often breathless in its delivery | Here, however, the structure of the sonnet breaks with a volta:
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Both poems speak to a silent lover, however Shelley’s poem suggests a vague listener who may never satisfy his desire, while Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s speaker ends her poem with direct address, certain of physical closeness | ||
Shelley’s poem is written to a vague listener, and suggests a superficial relationship, whereas Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet is written to an individual in an emotional monologue about romantic love | ||
Love’s Philosophy and The Farmer’s Bride
Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Shelley’s Love’s Philosophy and Mew’s The Farmer’s Bride convey powerful feelings of longing and desire in frustrated romantic relationships. They both suggest a power imbalance which leads to a lack of resolution.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems highlight longing and desire in romantic relationships as frustrating | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | The Farmer’s Bride |
The first-person speaker in Shelley’s poem conveys a frustrated tone of voice at a lack of physical intimacy:
| Similarly, Mew’s first-person speaker conveys frustration at the distance between he and his bride:
| |
Shelley’s poem draws upon comparisons with nature to represent physical love as natural:
| Here, too, natural imagery is used to present the speaker’s attitude that love and physical closeness are a natural part of life:
| |
Shelley’s speaker uses repetition and sibilance to express a sense of persistence and frustration:
| Mew’s speaker’s frustration is similarly expressed:
| |
The poets both comment on power imbalances within romantic relationships by showing frustrated speakers who attempt to persuade a lover to be intimate with them | ||
The poems end without resolution as both speakers are left longing for their partner’s physical love | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While both poets explore romantic love as natural, Shelley’s poem evokes the beauty and harmony of nature and love, while Mew’s natural imagery suggests the distance between the lovers | |
Evidence and analysis | Love’s Philosophy | The Farmer’s Bride |
Shelley’s natural imagery and personification alludes to the natural elements being in harmony, involved in a spiritual and endless embrace that is similar to physical love in romantic relationships:
| However, Mew uses natural imagery to represent the fear and distance within the romantic relationship between the farmer and his bride:
| |
Shelley’s Romantic poem presents nature as a unifying power within love, whereas Mew’s poem presents the wild spirit of the bride in opposition to a romantic relationship | ||
Shelley’s poem shows romantic love as unifying and natural, whereas Mew’s poem shows love as complicated and fractious | ||
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