Love in Poetry Essay -- Robert Burns Carol Ann Duffy Love Poems Essays

Love in Poetry â€Å"The course of true love never did run smoothly,† (William Shakespeare.) How far do you think the three poems you have read conform to this view? Throughout history love has been a favoured theme with many poets in their writing. Carol Ann Duffy, (born 1958) tackles the issue of love in her poem â€Å"Valentine,† as does Percy Bysshe Shelly (1792-1822) in the poem â€Å"Love’s Philosophy,† and finally Robert Burns (1759-1796) considers the topic in â€Å"A Red Red Rose.† As different poets throughout history have written about the topic it is not surprising that all three contain different and contrasting messages and viewpoints. It is clear that with the passage of time, views have become more pessimistic or some may say realistic. However, poems written in the eighteenth century still have relevance today. â€Å"A Red Red Rose† by Robert Burns portrays a very positive image of love. Firstly, Burns compares love to â€Å" a red, red rose.† This is a traditional object linked with the theme of love and through this comparison it is clear Burns is praising love. Burns describes the rose as â€Å"red, red.† This a bright, vibrant, sensual colour commonly associated when extolling love and appealing to the visual senses. Burns also compares love to â€Å" the melodie, that’s sweetly played in tune.† This vivid description appeals to the reader’s auditory senses. The fact that Burns implies love appeals to several different senses demonstrates that he feels love is a powerful influence that can be experienced by all. In the poem love is portrayed as a unifying force. Images of the sea, â€Å"the seas gang dry my dear† give the poem a natural element. This emphasises that love is universal to all. The image of the rocks, â€Å"t... ...ve characteristics of love but Valentine does address these issues more forcefully and in greater depth. Carol Ann Duffy wrote her poem nearly 200 years after Burns and Shelley. This means that a negative opinion of love would have been more accepted in society. Duffy may also have experienced a particularly painful relationship that may have ended on bad terms. My personal favourite out of the poems is Valentine as I feel it does show a very true side of love but achieves this in an original and exciting way. In connection with Shakespeare’s statement, it is clear that Duffy most definitely agrees with it while Burn is in no doubt that the course of true love does run smoothly. Shelley, however, does not agree or disagree with the statement and I would personally agree that in some case love does run smoothly while in other relationships it does not.