2.1.1

Summary & Structure

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Summary of Love's Philosophy

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

Shelley

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_

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

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

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

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

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

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.
Jump to other topics
1

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

1.1

When We Two Parted Analysis

1.1.1Summary & Structure1.1.2Themes: Death & Loss1.1.3Themes: Time & Anger1.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons1.1.5End of Topic Test - When We Two Parted
2

Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley

2.1

Love's Philosophy Analysis

2.1.1Summary & Structure2.1.2Themes2.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons2.1.4End of Topic Test - Love's Philosophy2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Love's Philosophy
3

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

3.1

Porphyria’s Lover Analysis

3.1.1Summary & Structure3.1.2Themes: Porphyria & Violence3.1.3Themes: Sin & Pathetic Fallacy3.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons3.1.5End of Topic Test - Porphyria's Lover
4

Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

4.1

Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis

4.1.1Summary & Structure4.1.2Themes4.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
5

Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

5.1

Neutral Tones Analysis

5.1.1Summary & Structure5.1.2Themes5.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons5.1.4End of Topic Test - Sonnet 29 & Neutral Tones
6

Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)

6.1

Letters from Yorkshire Analysis

6.1.1Summary & Structure6.1.2Themes6.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
7

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

7.1

The Farmer's Bride Analaysis

7.1.1Summary, Structure & Form7.1.2Themes7.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons7.1.4End of Topic Test - Dooley & Mew7.1.5Exam-Style Questions - The Farmer's Bride
8

Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)

8.1

Walking Away Analysis

8.1.1Summary, Structure & Form8.1.2Themes8.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
9

Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)

9.1

Eden Rock Analysis

9.1.1Summary, Structure & Form9.1.2Themes9.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons9.1.4End of Topic Test - Walking Away & Eden Rock
10

Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

10.1

Follower Analysis

10.1.1Summary, Structure & Form10.1.2Themes10.1.3Quotes and Comparisons
11

‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born 1963

11.1

'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis

11.1.1Summary, Structure & Form11.1.2Themes11.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons11.1.4End of Topic Test - Follower& Mother, Any Distance
12

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

12.1

Before You Were Mine Analysis

12.1.1Summary, Structure & Form12.1.2Themes12.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
13

Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)

13.1

Winter Swans Analysis

13.1.1Summary, Structure & Form13.1.2Themes13.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons13.1.4End of Topic Test - Duffy & Sheers
14

Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)

14.1

Singh Song! Analysis

14.1.1Summary, Structure & Form14.1.2Themes14.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
15

Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

15.1

Climbing My Grandfather Analysis

15.1.1Summary, Structure & Form15.1.2Themes15.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons15.1.4End of Topic Test - Nagra & Waterhouse
16

Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1

Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
17

Recap: Main Quotes

17.1

Recap: Main Quotes

17.1.1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)17.1.2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley17.1.3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)17.1.4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (17.1.5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)17.1.6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)17.1.7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)17.1.8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)17.1.9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)17.1.10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)17.1.11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963)17.1.12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)17.1.13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)17.1.14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)17.1.15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

Practice questions on Summary & Structure

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What did the Romantic movement encourage a focus on?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    What did Percy Shelley's wife (Mary) write?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    For how long has the relationship in _Love's Philosophy_ been going?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    What literary device does Shelley end the poem with to emphasise the inevitability of their relationship?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    Which of these are true about the structure and form of _Love's Philosophy_?True / false
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End of Topic Test - When We Two Parted

Themes