Love Poetries Essay

Personal Advertisement I am currently in the most enjoyable stage of my life where I wish to find the best person to share it with me. I am passionate with everything I do and I wish to share that passion with someone who knows how to live a passionate life too. I am the Man in the â€Å"Love Poem† I consider myself to be the narrator in John Frederick Nims’ Love Poem because it immensely reflects my current feelings for a particular person. Nims refers to his lover as his â€Å"clumsiest dear,† (Nims, 2003, p. 67) which quite bears a resemblance on the nature of my own special someone. His subject’s palms are compared to the â€Å"bulls in china, burs in linen, / And have no cunning with any soft thing† (Nims, 2003, p. 67). This metaphor that insinuates roughness and clumsiness also reflects some of the characteristics of my lover. Being a â€Å"Misfit in any space. And never on time. † (Nims, 2003, p. 67) surely creates an image of a person entirely different than other people. He or she does not always fit in any common group of people and is expected to break most rules. However, like the narrator’s last two lines in the fourth stanza, â€Å"In traffic of wit expertly manoeuvre / And keep us, all devotion, at your knees. † (Nims, 2003, p. 67), I still find myself adoring him for his remarkable wisdom. Simply put, despite all the imperfections of this particular person, I still love him or her without any doubt. Stage of Love in â€Å"The Lover Not Taken† In Blanche Farley’s parody of Robert Frost’s â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, the woman and the blonde guy are obviously in a â€Å"getting to know† stage as suggested by the last line on the first stanza where the blond is initially referred to as â€Å"the new guy† (Farley, 1937. n. p. ). However, it is also important to consider that the relationship in this poem does not only include the woman and the blonde but also Jack whom the woman has been with for a long time. This is validated on the 3rd and 4th line of the second stanza where the narrator introduces him as, â€Å"the other, jack, had a claim / On her already . . . / He understood her. His long, lithe frame† (Farley, 1937. n. p. ). Hence, it is clear that there are two stages of love in this poem in dependence to whose relationship in the love triangle we are speaking about. Two Figurative Languages that Compares the Love in â€Å"The Lover Not Taken† The first figurative language is a metaphor that speaks of the new guy’s physical description as â€Å"smooth as a yellow wood† (Farley, 1937. n. p. ). His physical beauty is compared to that of the yellow wood which can mean several things like the end of summer or the beginning of fall which can also be considered to be nice to look at. Perhaps, it can be a literal comparison of the man’s smoothness to a smooth yellow tree. The second comparison is on the first line of the second stanza. The narrator’s statement â€Å"She liked his hair,† (Farley, 1937. n. p. ) obviously compares the superficial relationship of the woman and the blonde. If one would deeply analyze, the attraction of the woman to the blonde is too superficial or simply physical. Liking his hair and smile obviously just symbolizes her extreme lust for the blonde guy that she is actually willing to risk her long-term relationship with a complete stranger who has a beautiful smile and hair. The Lover Not Taken is Most Likely Doomed to Misery As for my opinion, guilt leads a person to misery. In this poem’s case, it is most likely for the woman’s relationship with Jack to be miserable if guilt would consume the woman’s relationship with him. Honesty and loyalty to a partner are two of the most important elements that determine the stability of a relationship. However, since this poem consists of two relationships of a particular woman; the answer would still depend on whom she would end up with. If she ends her relationship with Jack and start a new one with the blonde, there is a possible occurrence of a â€Å"happily ever after story†. On the other hand, if she stays with Jack and continues her affair with the blonde guy, it is most likely to end up in misery. The Tone of â€Å"The Lover Not Taken† By analyzing the atmosphere being suggested on the first stanza of the poem, â€Å"And, mulling it over, long she stood, / Alone on the road, loath / To leave, wanting to hide in the undergrowth. † (Farley, 1937. n. p. ), the initial seriousness of the narrator’s tone is evident. There is too much concentration on the woman’s part as she mulls over her future decision whether to have an affair with another man or not. However, the tone changed abruptly on the last two lines where she suddenly stopped contemplating on which decision to make by taking the fast way home and phoning the blonde. Setting of â€Å"The Lover Not Taken† Obviously, this poem is inspired by Robert Frost’s famous poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken† which tackles the difficulty of deciding what path to choose in life. However, Farley similarly illustrates the difficulty of making decisions by pointing out a particular situation such as being torn between two lovers. Like Frost’s original piece, a person is facing a certain road pondering about a situation he or she needs to handle. By basing the setting and theme on Frost’s poem, Farley has further emphasized the central message of Frost’s poem. Since, it is inspired by Frost’s â€Å"Road Not Taken†, it is important to consider not only why it is set in that particular setting but more importantly why Farley chose Frost’s poem to communicate her own message. References Farley, B. (1937). The Lover Not Taken. Geocities. Retrieved December 3, 2008, from http://www. geocities. com/cailinliet/lover. html Nims, F. (2002). The Love Poem. Master the GED language arts, reading 2003. New Jersey: Peterson’s.