Poems about Love
"Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's
Day" p. 543
• This poem, along with the other Shakespearean
sonnet that we read for class, is part of a sequence
of sonnets that Shakespeare wrote. There are 154
of them in all. This is number eighteen.
• The point of this sonnet cycle and Elizabethan
“love poetry” in general was twofold: the poet
was to praise the “beloved,” yes, but showing
poetic skill and wit (which for the Elizabethans
meant skill with language and putting together
ideas and images in a new and startling way) was
an equally important goal.
"Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's
Day” questions p. 543
• In "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day,"
why is the summer's day not adequate for
comparison?
• What is it that makes the subject of the poem
(the "beloved") immortal?
• What is the "problem" in this poem? Where is
the "turn"? (Remember our discussion of
sonnets.)
• Comment on the poet's use of nature in this
poem.
• How is this a poem about love?
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” (p.
710) and “The Nymph’s Reply to the
Shepherd” p. (716)
• Both of these poems are pastoral poems. This
means that they idealize and romanticize life in
the country as pure, carefree, and idyllic
(peaceful).
• “The Nymph’s Reply” was written in direct
response to the first poem. Poets who were
familiar with each others’ work would often
respond to one another in this way.
Questions for “Passionate Shepherd”
and “The Nymph’s Reply”
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
• How does the shepherd depict the life that he is offering
his beloved?
• What does he do to try to convince her to come be with
him?
• Does this romanticized view of nature detract from the
poem as a "love poem," or add to it?
“The Nymph’s Reply”
• How does the nymph answer the shepherd's offer? Why?
• How does the speaker in this poem put "her" own twist
on the ideas in "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"?
• Do you see any similarities between this poem and "Shall
I Compare Thee"?
"What My Lips Have Kissed" p. 660
• We move forward in history several hundred
years here, but many of the themes, if not the
treatment of those themes, remain the same.
• What differences/similarities between this
poem and the other do you notice?
• How does her attitude toward love compare to
the others we read for today?
• Look at specific lines in them poems as you
make your comparisons.
Metaphysical Poetry
• The Metaphysical Poets were active during the
17th century (the 1600's).
• They were, above all, concerned with
inventiveness and ingenuity of metaphor,
(remember our discussion of "wit" from last class)
and they fully explored the implications of saying
that two unlike things are the same.
• This tends to make the metaphors and similes in
metaphysical poetry very striking and unusual.
• John Donne and Andrew Marvell are two of the
most recognizable Metaphysical poets.
"To His Coy Mistress" p. 559-60
• What is the argument that this poem makes?
• How does the speaker contrast what he would
do if he had time and what he must do because
time is running out?
• What are some of the most startling images or
metaphors in this poem?
• Another poem in the same vein as "To His Coy
Mistress" is "To the Virgins, to Make Much of
Time" on p. 498
"The Flea" p. 690
• What is the argument that this poem makes?
(Yes, it is a strange one…)
• How does the poet use the death of the flea to
enhance that argument?
• How does this poem fit in with the definition
of “metaphysical” poetry we just learned?
"Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" p.
691-695
• How is this a "love song"?
• What is it that the speaker worries about?
• There is great debate over what question the
speaker was about to ask (line 10) before he
stops himself. What are some possibilities there?
• What are some of the images/metaphors in this
poem that are particularly interesting?
In-Class Writing #7: Write a love poem using as
many "disgusting" words as you can.
Possible word list:
• Acne
• Snail
• Mucus
• Rust
• Mold
• Remember, while the words and images may be
“gross,” you are writing a poem about romantic
love/affection.