Life in a Love

Analysis

"Life in Love" is a poem written by Robert Browning. This poem is about Browning have an unrequited love and never giving up. He states that he is "never [...] beloved" and "Me the loving and you the loth". He goes on to state that even though he constnatly fails, he must get up and try again to love. This is somewhat inspirational to us to keep on working on our love and never give up. This poem consists of a single stanza with twenty-two lines. It's rhyme scheme is ABCDEECDEEDFGFGHIHIJKL. Basically, the middle is rhymed and the beginning and end are not.

Extrinsic elements

1. Author's state of mind and emotion when working on this poem: Browning was in the state of madly in love with his wife. This poem was made after his five-year of hiatus, so even though this poem couldn't make a big sell at the time, but in today's era, this poems collection, including this poem so relatable to anyone's romance life, don't you think? This poem is also related to one of his poems; Love in a Life, which is connected. The inseparable love of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Bennet is the base of these poems existed. 2. Poem's Setting: This poem was made around 1849 in Florence, when Browning got so much inspiration in making poems. The exact date is unknown.

Intrinsic elements

1. Speaker and tone: struggle, surrender, acceptance resulting in dissatisfaction. 2. Diction: There are figurative languages; personification and simile. The chosen words are simple and based on experience; daily life-used. 3. Structure: Open structure, 22 lines, free verse. 4. Syntax: Simple sentence and simple present tense. 5. Rhyme: The rhyme is quite unique. We can seem the uniqueness from the sound, not the latter word for each line. We can see from the three-first lines, the rhyme is ABB, but then for the next 4 lines until the three lines from the bottom, they are rhymed uniquely (CDDC, BBBB, EFEF, GHGH). As for the last three lines, the rhyme scheme is the same with the three first, ABB. This scheme cannot be categorized to any scheme, since Robert made a mess this scheme > CDDC, BBBB, EFEF, GHGH. It would be an alternate rhyme scheme if there was ABBA at the first four-line. 6. Symbol: the Chase, the dust and the dark. 7. Figurative language: Personification (so the Chase takes up one's life takes up one's life that's all, no sooner the old hope goes to the ground) and hyperbole (at me so deep in the dust and dark). 8. Imagery: There are kinesthetic (one eludes, the other pursue, laugh at a fall, get up, I shape me) and visual imageries (while, look but once from your farthest bound). 9. Theme: Rejection, loss, dissatisfaction.

Imagery

Deep in the dust and dark shows where he is in relation to her.

Another tiny essay

I take a completely different view. I don\'t think the poem is hopeless. \"Loth\" can also be defined as reluctant. I think she is pushing him away, and he can sense it. But underneath, she does love him. She\'s just putting up barriers that he hurdles. I believe he is simply stating his faithfulness to her in this poem; it\'s not about a stalker or complete unrequited love. With just one look, she kills his hope and then rebuilds it. Their relationship is just rocky right now, but he is willing to see it through. I believe it's another example of the twisted minds Browning so often presents. The speakers seems a seriously dysfunctional character, like Porphyria's lover or the Duke of Ferrara. He is stalking some women and rationalising it to himself. The rhyme scheme is disjointed and uncomfortable which reinforces that the speaker is disjointed mentally. He alliteration of the d at the end is sharp and dark which again suggests an uncomfortable mental state. He seems determined that he will love her no matter what she wants and if something were to happen to her then he'd move on to somehting else. it's a freaky (but well cool) poem. Reminds me a lot of the main character in John Fowles "The Collector".

Another essay

In my opinion, Robert Browning was very brave. It is too easy to give up your objectives, if you find some difficulties but he did not. He always fought for what he wanted, "he pulled down each wall" that he found in his way, and finally he was rewarded with love, the best reward that a human can obtain in his life. So, clearly I can say that he lived his "life in a love". The rhyme scheme here, (if we exclude what may be described as poetic 'ferrules' at top and bottom) is a simple one of ABBA for the first 8 lines and then ABAB for the final 8. These two poets loved each other with a depth that is rare, and poetry is fortunate to have two such accomplished poets writing with such talent about their love for each other. This poem is an example of Robert's view. As has been mentioned, Elizabeth's Sonnets from the Portuguese shows how deep was her own feeling for her husband. Sonnet 43 is, arguably, the most well known love poem in English literature - "How do I love thee / Let me count the ways". In this poem Browning is using the tension create by apparantly contradictory statements; "Me the loving and you the loth / While the one eludes, must the other pursue.", the first describing his position vis-a-vis her, and the second describing their positions vis-a-vis each other. In my view it is this one unexpected word ("loth")which lifts the poem beyond the merely laudatory love poem because of the confusion it creates in the reader. It is also interesting to note that in this one place Browning's punctuation is ambiguous. There is no comma at the end of the line, theoretically it can be read as "...you the loth while the one pursues...", The only thing I can say about this is that Browning was, undoubtedly, one of the most well read and scholarly poets of the noneteenth century, it is unlikely to be an error. For whatever reason, Browning deliberately wanted not to have a comma there. What is being written about is not a love complete and rounded, but what is likely to be a temporary set of circumstances where Elizabeth, possibly suffering an acute episode of ill-health, has momentarily rejected Robert. The poem being his attempt to show her that his love is too vast, too overwhelming to be shrugged off as she may appear to have done. The next few lines may constitute some sort of apology to her - if she feels he has offended in some way, "My life is a fault at last, I fear: / It seems too much like a fate, indeed!". But, not only constituting an apology, they also allow of a reading meaning he is frustrated by the fact that he loves her forever, that his 'life is at fault' and it's his 'fate, indeed' to be thus. Through the poem, and especially the second half, the one over-riding theme is how Robert's love for Elizabeth cannot be gainsayed, it is fundamental part of existence for him; "No sooner the old hope goes to ground / Than a new one, straight to the self-same mark". "I shape me--- / Ever / Removed!"; which rhymes with the top 'ferrule' aba-abc; is a little complicated. I suggest that the word's meaning as, in this instance, that he has been taken away (from her love?) and it's position at the end is a possible prod to Elizabeth for her to consider his abject situation. But, as undoubtedly Browning and Elizabeth would both have known, 'remove' has a number of secondary meanings - being remote or distant from, having one's office or position changed, being a step away from the direct cause of something amongst them. The position of 'ever' in the middle so that it can refer to both preceding and succeeding lines is also interesting, and typical of Browning's poetry which leaves ambiguities open-ended. In short, in my opinion this is a love poem not describing a love towering across the ages; it is an individual poem,which Browning shared with us, but which nonetheless has one person, Elizabeth, as his intended audience. It describes, with intensity, how his love is for her whether she loves him or no. It, for me, is designed to get a response from Elizabeth of her avowal of love for him. Which, if I am correct in my opinions, I have little doubt but that it achieved Browning's desired end. Actually, they did passionately love each other (read their letters for more info), and they both passionately loved poetry and literature in general. She did fear for her life because, for most of it, she wasn\'t particularly well. That and the fact that her father forbade all his children to marry (which didn\'t make for a very comfortable courtship environment) were some of the reasons why she pushed him away initially. But this poem was written in 1855, by which time they were already married and, according to their son, inseparable. So the two poems \"Life in a Love\" and \"Love in a Life\" (which is the one where he goes from room to room looking for her) were probably descriptive of unusual moments in the lives of two passionately involved people. Elizabeth Barrett Browning did have health issues and may have had moments of self-rejection (which sometimes translate into pushing your lover away), but all you have to do is read Sonnets from the Portuguese to know that she passionately loved Robert Browning. Also, don\'t forget - these people were poets: their passion was not just each other - it was also poetry. So if his rhyme schemes seem convoluted to some, consider that he may have been experimenting, as poets sometimes do. Hope that helps.

Essay

The poem I am going to talk about is "Life in a love" by Robert Browning. Curiously this author has another poem titled "Love in a life" which is different, always with any relation, but I can see how he is playing on words in his own poems and titles. In the title of the poem to analyze I can understand that Browning has lived in love and for his love, like he says, a life in a love, inside a love story he has lived. This is the sense of his life. Robert Browning was in love with Elisabeth Browning, and this love story was very difficult. They got married in secret and they escaped also in secret, and that is the reason why he starts this poem like this: "Escape me? / Never". It is probably that he felt like a fugitive, but he was always convinced about his facts and his ideas, he believed in himself to carry with his love story. This poem is a dramatic monologue, because he is reflecting on his ideas through all the text, he asks the questions and gives the answers, it is a kind of conversation in which he is the narrator and we turn into the silent listener, we only can attend to what he is telling us to share the poem with him. The structure of this poem reminds us of a letter. It is possible that it was: the romance between Robert and Elisabeth Browning never was accepted. They came from different social classes and she was seen as an inferior person to be with Robert. Also, her family didn't accept him. One way to talk was the writing. They maintained a correspondence but some years after, the poems were published. Elisabeth Browning titled them Sonnets from the Portuguese. This kind of "game" allowed them to be in touch although they were distant, because she was in Florence and he lived in London. Even so, he loved Elisabeth with all his heart and this is one of the causes of his flight. The fact that they published these poems (letters), it is like a way to communicate them providing the appearance of "Yellow Press". As this love story was not accepted and it created controversy, this was something which produced curiosity in the people and everyone was waiting for news of this couple, and all people talked about them, gossiping. As we know, all the forbidden things call for our curiosity and in those times, happened the same: there was a new way of thinking, the social classes were stronger, and the religion saw these things like a sin... All that caused a social scandal. In some way, this scandal was positive for Robert and Elisabeth because thanks to it, their poems were read by a lot of people. It did not matter if these poems were good or not, the most important thing was that people can red news about the Browning's love story and know if the things went right and if the new society accepted it. Reading this poem, I can see how the author looks for being more popular. This is a period of time in which it is more difficult to be read and obtain a place between the most read poets, and that is why Browning preferred to write this kind of poems, this kind of monologue, in order to attract better the attention of his audience. In those times, the audience sometimes shares their worries with the poets. As I said before, in this poem the author talks about escape. He does a reflection justifying his acts. He thinks he did not escape, and his first answer to it is: "Beloved!". Escape is something that society thinks, but he did not. He is moved by love and this justifies all. He considers the other person (Elisabeth) like an equal person, he does not differenciate between social classes, one person is not higher than another, and in this case they both are in love, so they are not different. The two lovers escaped together. I can justify it in the 5th verse: "So long as the world contains us both", it does not matter the destiny or the place, the most important thing is their love and being together. In the verses "Me the loving and you the loth / While the one eludes, must the other pursue" he shows us how he will be able to do all for Elisabeth. He fears that his life became a fault, but he thinks this is his way; this is what he has to do. He is worried because he can fail in his purpose. He asks himself what he will do if he fails. And he answers himself that the solution is "keep the nerves at strain". There will be time to "dry one's eyes" if he fails but the first thing to do is to try it, he always can "get up and begin again" if he falls. The author thinks that this purpose, this chase can takes up all his life, but he wants to know his "farthest bound", all that he is able to do for love and where he can arrive. He always has his hope and this is something that he will never loose and it will give him strength to go on. Nothing and no one will stop him, everything (people, family, society) that want to sink him does not matter and it does not remove him. "Ever". If there is any possibility to fail, he will learn through his faults and he will try to make it better. Finally, I also can see how his sources of inspiration are his strength, his love, the fate, the desire to face the forbidden things... and he never requests to God or supernatural divinities because he is an atheist.

Summary

The poem's speaker addresses a woman who has seemingly just mentioned the possibility that she might leave him (the first line is "Escape me?"). He insists that such escape is impossible, since his pursuit of her is "much like a fate, indeed!" Even if his pursuit is interrupted by failure, he will "get up to begin again." His life is devoted towards the "chase" of her, and no matter how little hope he has, he will continue after her.

Another teeny essay

This is an internal struggle to try and get the girl he loves struggles between his heart and his mind. One tells him to go after her because he loves her and hopes to change her mind while the other says it's a waist of time because she will never love him. These slides should identify important lines or passages, discuss various poetic techniques the poet employs, explain the significance of images or symbols, and present clear statements about the theme of the poem. "Life In a Love" was written by Robert Browning in 1855 which was the 19th century and also known as the Victorian Time Period. The Victorian Era began around 1837 and ended round 1901. This Era was about change. This Era was changing everything that was seen as tradition and socially correct. Nearly every part of society was under sudden change during this era. This poem is mainly about love but also includes some hints of fate. Themes in this poem are also adoration and rejection. The adoration is represented by his love for the girl and the slight hint of rejection is represented by his constant promise to continually get up and prove his love for her.

Bigger summary

This poem tells us about the speaker who is so desperate in fighting for his lover to be his own love. Though, he rather expresses about the tenacity of pursuing his love as it is his fate. It has written in the skies that he will keep pursuing his love, whoever it may be. Even he has no more hope for her love, he will keep trying, struggling at his best to make her turn her look at him; he also described himself as a creature in the dust and dark. Too hyperbole as it connects us to the fate itself; that it is men's jobs to pursue women (lovers).

Background of the poem

This poem, Life in a love, was part of Men and Women, a book of 51 poems written in Italy and published in 1855, after he had married Elizabeth Barrett. The book helped to repair his reputation, which had been suffered at the hands of critics in 1840 when he published Sordello. This poem is possibly a pair with "Love in a Life" from the same book.

Bigger analysis

This short poem, published in Men and Women in 1855, is most immediately about love, though its themes of fate and free will give it a more sophisticated message. The speaker's primary assertion - that he will never cease in his pursuit of his beloved no matter how the effort is paid off - is characterized initially as being out of his control. He admits that his uncontrollable tenacity is "a fault" in his character, because it is "too much like a fate." Though he acknowledges that even at his best, he "shall scare succeed," he accepts it as part of himself. It is a curious interpretation of love, one not born from romantic fulfillment but instead from fate. The attraction does not read in the poem as one that brings him happiness but rather as a burden he must accept. In this way, the poem can be understood in terms of Browning's recurring theme of the impossible quest, one that a heroic man pursues even as simultaneously accepts that the prize can never truly be achieved. It is precisely in terms of this acceptance that Browning complicates the idea of fate, suggesting in the latter part of the poem that one has free will even within the confines of fate. He says that even when the "old hope [for her] drops to ground," a new one takes its place and he will "shape" himself to it. In other words, he is willing to accept that this tenacity is his fate. There is a strength in this acceptance, in that he does not let the fate control him even if it does shape his life. He gives himself partial credit for defining his "shape," suggesting that acceptance of the fate comprises half of his identity. Browning's theme of transience and the ever-changing human psyche is also manifest in the poem. Love here is not a simple path to happiness, but rather a struggle that leads the speaker, in very few lines, to swing from loving pursuit of his fate to begrudging acceptance of it. Both mindsets are true and honest, and part of the same complicated, contradictory individual.