The Love Theme

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that love is, not surprisingly, one of the most frequent themes in all literary creations and especially in poetry. The writer points out that throughout the centuries, love has been represented in many different ways in poetry, according to the specific aspect that the poets were trying to communicate. The writer then notes that the two poems, 'Variation on the Word Sleep' by Margaret Atwood and 'Alive or Not' by Al Purdy appear to be dissimilar at a first glance, but, upon a more profound examination, the poems reveal a few common elements. While love is certainly the theme of both poems, it somehow seems to elude the reader at first. This is because the poems are somehow atypical: They seem to avoid the intensity of the actual feeling of love and focus on the representation of two dream sequences instead. The writer notes that Atwood's poem translates the author's wish to plunge into the dream of her lover, while Purdy's text relates a bizarre dream in which he is trying to save his wife from an accident. The writer maintains that both poems offer thus a different perspective on love from inside the dream, which focuses on its haunting power, and the way the feeling travels to the subconscious.

From the Paper:

"It is evident though that the poem is not merely about sleeping and dreaming. The same is with Purdy's text which is in fact an account of an odd dream. Love is not mentioned in any way, but it is inherent in both poems. Atwood thus speaks about her wish to descend into her lover's sleep, that is, to dive deeply into his subconscious and meet his greatest fear and his greatest grief.
"This is certainly a different way of approaching the theme of love. Here, the union between the two lovers is not an ecstatic feeling, but a submerged, deep sensation. The imagery of the poem is quite very evocative and the tone is rather slumberous and heavy. The scenery depicted recalls a fairytale atmosphere, typical of dreams. The silver branch, the white flower, the boat, the stairway or the three moons are all symbolic dream-elements, signifying the journey or the descent into the dark subconscious state."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Atwood, Margaret. Selected Poems. New York: The Modern Library, 1995.
• Purdy, Al. Poems. New York: Harbour Publishing, 2000.

More papers on The Love Theme:

• Poem Review # 147930 : "Elliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
• Analytical Essay # 89653 : "T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
• Book Review # 94794 : "The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock"

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