love's philosophy

• "the fountains mingle with the river"

  • nature theme presented right from the start - common for romantic poetry
  • everything is connected so it is only natural for them to be together
  • "mingle" creates semantic field of physical union evokes water's natural characteristic - to flow and merge
  • water flowing and merging is a natural life force and a symbol of cleanliness; implication that there is goodness and purity in this physical union
• "and the rivers with the ocean"

  • "ocean" is a feminine motif in poetry so he is comparing his female lover to the "ocean"
  • anadiplosis (when a word from the end of the first line is repeated at the start of the second) of "river" and enjambment enhance idea of continuity and give the lines movement
  • the comparison to a "river" also mirrors this image of natural movement
  • this line ends on a unstressed syllable just like the previous; shows they may not be together but they are on the same page and similar
• "the winds of heaven mix for ever with a sweet emotion"

  • personification of winds and the idea of them mixing with "emotion" suggests a deep connection and harmony between the natural world and human feelings of love
  • presents love as a universal force; something that is interwoven into the very fabric of existence
  • "winds of heaven": religious imagery despite shelley being an atheist; this shows that despite his beliefs, he believes nature is a living entity (personification) and that there is a divine, unifying spirit running through everything
• "with a sweet emotion"

  • adjective "sweet" implies speaker experiences tender affection
  • "sweet" and idea of eternal mixing create sense of love as something positive, pleasurable and enduring
• "nothing in the world is single"

  • implication that pairs are natural state
  • absolute "nothing" intensifies his belief
  • end-stopping shows the certainty of this notion
• "all things by a law divine in one another's being meet and mingle"

  • use of rhetorical question is implying that the recipient's refusal is unreasonable; an offence to "law divine"
  • "law divine" links back to title in which shelley compares lack of love with philosophical argument; reducing huge concept of love to straightforward step-by-step plea
• "why not i with thine?"

  • truncated line; abruptly brings lyrical tone and rhythm to halt + gives stanza a sense of closure
  • 5 syllables & stressed ending
  • each word is monosyllabic - intensifies his frustration
• stanza 1:

  • the repetition of "mingle" at the start and end highlights natural unity of nature & creates circular structure
  • a persuasive tone is created through the repetition
• "see the mountains kiss high heaven and the waves clasp one another"

  • imperative "see" shows a more forceful tone
  • comparing other natural relationships
  • verbs increasing in sexual intimacy now that the connection between the natural world and his ulterior motive has been made
  • pathetic fallacy and assonance of "mountains kiss high heaven" suggests naturalness and simplicity of them being together
  • "clasp" has highly sensual connotations and soft sibilance in it denotes loving, intimate connection
  • also continues semantic field of embrace
• "no sister-flower would be forgiven if it disdain'd its brother"

  • innocent images could reflect innocent nature of their relationship
  • also could suggest the relationship is natural and shouldn't be forced - they're destined / born to be together
  • shelley's use of "disdain'd" shows how he feels her refusal was motivated by contempt
  • "no sister-flower would be forgiven" implies the refusal is sinful, not the act itself
• "and the sunlight clasps the earth / and the moonbeams kiss the sea"

  • the imagery of the sunlight "[clasping]" the earth and the moonbeams "[kissing]" the sea anthropomorphises these natural phenomena, imbuing (giving) them with a sense of intimate, loving connection
  • suggests a world in which love is the fundamental principle, the driving force behind the interaction of all things
  • use of "clasps" and "kiss" emphasises the physical, embodied nature of the connection, making it tangible and real
• "and the sunlight clasps the earth / and the moonbeams kiss the sea"

  • "sunlight" is seen as a masculine symbol, while "moonbeams" is feminine which shows reciprocal acts of physical love
  • "sunlight" and "moonbeams" - antithesis shows overwhelming nature of speaker's desire; passionate night and day
• "what is all this sweet work worth, if thou kiss not me?"

  • question format and direct address to "thou" creates sense of intimate, personal appeal
  • speaker is essentially asking what the point of all the beauty and harmony in nature is if it doesn't lead to direct, physical expression of love between two people
  • focus on "kiss" emphasises importance of physical touch and affection as a manifestation of love
• "what is all this sweet work worth, if thou kiss not me?"

  • "sweet work worth" - difficult to say implying the speaker is beginning to feel despondent about the lack of reciprocity of his love
  • use of rhetorical question reflects the persuasive nature of the poem; monosyllables reinforce shelley's argument
  • "kiss" repeated throughout to emphasise speaker's desire
  • implication that the laws of nature are completely worthless unless she gives him a kiss; lots of pressure put on her - melodramatic
• repetition of "and the":

  • polysyndeton as if building a philosophical or persuasive argument
• form:

  • two stanzas; represents the ideas of couples expressed in poem
  • rhyming couplets used for same effect
  • ababcdcd rhyme scheme
  • consistency in form suggests intensity and unchanging nature of his desire for the person the poem is written about
• 3 possible other poems to compare it to:

  • when we two parted
  • sonnet 29 - i think of thee
  • the farmer's bride
• themes:

  • longing
  • desire
  • nature
  • unrequited love