Summary & Structure

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Summary of Love's Philosophy

Here's some background to Percy Bysshe Shelley's Love's Philosophy:

Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was the husband of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein and friend of Lord Byron.
Percy Bysshe Shelley was a key Romantic poet.
The romantic movement encouraged a focus on the natural world and human passions over rationality and logic.

Structure of Love's Philosophy

The narrator is addressing his lover in a two-part argument.
- First, he presents love as connecting all parts of the earth and the universe.
- In the second half of his argument, he applies this philosophy of connectivity to kisses. He is trying to convince his lover that to kiss him is the only natural course of action.

Influence of the romantic movement

We can see the influence of the romantic movement on Love’s Philosophy.
Shelley sets up love as a belief system in itself that guides the universe and human behaviour.
Shelley elevates love and relationships to an almost religious pedestal.
Shelley presents a relationship as a negotiation, and love as a natural and inevitable fact.

Early stages of love

This is also a poem about love in its early stages – this relationship is as of yet untested, and is still in the early exciting stages of courtship (dating).
The narrator’s hyperbolic (exaggerative) language shows the excitement of the prospect of this new relationship.
Unlike poems such as Winter Swans or Letters from Yorkshire that focus on relationships that are established, Shelley instead captures the thrill and excitement of a new relationship.

Structure and Form of Love's Philosophy

Here's some interpretations of the structure and form of Love's Philosophy:

Simple structure

The poem follows a short and simplistic structure – fitting with the narrator’s belief that what he is trying to argue is simple and natural.

Structured argument

But the poem is tightly structured in its argument.
Shelley uses the stanzas to develop the weight of evidence and ends with a rhetorical question to further emphasise the apparent inevitability of their relationship.

Simple rhyme and rhythm

The poem also follows an ABAB rhyme scheme, which is simplistic and gives the poem a sweet and soft rhythm.
There are also two half-rhymes in each stanza, which are jarring (clashing or shocking) in the otherwise clear rhyme scheme.
- These out of place rhymes seem to embody the two lovers' unnatural separation.

1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)

1.1When We Two Parted Analysis

1.1.1Summary & Structure

1.1.2Themes: Death & Loss

1.1.3Themes: Time & Anger

1.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons

1.1.5End of Topic Test - When We Two Parted

2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley

2.1Love's Philosophy Analysis

2.1.1Summary & Structure

2.1.2Themes

2.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

2.1.4End of Topic Test - Love's Philosophy

2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Love's Philosophy

3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

3.1Porphyria’s Lover Analysis

3.1.1Summary & Structure

3.1.2Themes: Porphyria & Violence

3.1.3Themes: Sin & Pathetic Fallacy

3.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Porphyria's Lover

4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis

4.1.1Summary & Structure

4.1.2Themes

4.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

5.1Neutral Tones Analysis

5.1.1Summary & Structure

5.1.2Themes

5.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

5.1.4End of Topic Test - Sonnet 29 & Neutral Tones

6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)

6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis

6.1.1Summary & Structure

6.1.2Themes

6.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)

7.1The Farmer's Bride Analaysis

7.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

7.1.2Themes

7.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

7.1.4End of Topic Test - Dooley & Mew

7.1.5Exam-Style Questions - The Farmer's Bride

8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)

8.1Walking Away Analysis

8.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

8.1.2Themes

8.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)

9.1Eden Rock Analysis

9.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

9.1.2Themes

9.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

9.1.4End of Topic Test - Walking Away & Eden Rock

10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

10.1Follower Analysis

10.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

10.1.2Themes

10.1.3Quotes and Comparisons

11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963

11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis

11.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

11.1.2Themes

11.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

11.1.4End of Topic Test - Follower& Mother, Any Distance

12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)

12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis

12.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

12.1.2Themes

12.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)

13.1Winter Swans Analysis

13.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

13.1.2Themes

13.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

13.1.4End of Topic Test - Duffy & Sheers

14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)

14.1Singh Song! Analysis

14.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

14.1.2Themes

14.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis

15.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

15.1.2Themes

15.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

15.1.4End of Topic Test - Nagra & Waterhouse

16Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1.1Grade 9 - Comparisons

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