A Sketch for a Modern Love
By Tadeusz Różewicz
And yet whiteness
can be best described by greyness
a bird by a stone
sunflowers
in Decemberlove poems of old
used to be descriptions of flesh
they described this and that
for instance eyelashesand yet redness
should be described
by greyness the sun by rain
the poppies in november
the lips at nightthe most palpable
description of bread
is that of hunger
there is in it
a humid porous core
a warm inside
sunflowers at night
the breasts the belly the thighs of Cybelea transparent
source-like description
of water is that of thirst
of ash
of desert
it provokes a mirage
clouds and trees enter
a mirror of water
lack hunger
absence
of flesh
is a description of love
in a modern love poem
Summary of A Sketch for a Modern Love
- Popularity of “A Sketch for a Modern Love”: “A Sketch for a Modern Love” by Tadeusz Różewicz, a phenomenal Polish poet and writer, is an ironic poetic piece. The poem presents a modern description of love. The poet sketches the nuances of the modern world in contrast to the changing definition of love. This universal thematic strand has seen the subject of numerous texts but, in this poem, the poet’s mix of irony and sarcasm make this poem deep and creative.
- “A Sketch for a Modern Love” As a Representative of Sarcasm: This poem introduces an understanding of love in the modern world. It begins as the speaker tries to change our perspective toward nature and its wonders. He presents a dual perspective of every object like whiteness which can be best described through greyness. In other words, even the attractive and perfect things have their darker shades. He adds that love poems of old times revolve around physical beauty; writers tend to focus on flesh. But in the modern world, the attitudes and priorities of the people have changed. Some focus on the bounties of nature scattered around them, while some just run to fuel their desires. In the final stanza, the speaker tries to make his meanings more apparent when he says that when natural objects enter into the mirror of clear water, they seem to be part of one picture.
- Major Themes in “A Sketch for a Modern Love”: Modern love versus old love, the absurdity of the modern world, and man versus world are the major themes of the poem. This poem is the best example of the contemporary world where everything seems confused, mixed, and unclear. The speaker says that the old love poem primarily focused on the lovers’ physical features and infinite feelings. However, this criteria has been totally altered in today’s world where people are confused about their priorities. They seem stuck between real and unreal. Instead of having a theoretical approach, they get attracted by the seemingly beautiful objects. Unfortunately, this hollow and meaningless approach makes them stand at a place where they fail to choose a clear path.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “A Sketch for a Modern Love”
literary devices are tools that the writers insert in their texts to create meanings and depth. It is through these devices they convey their emotions, feelings, and ideas to the readers. They can also make the poems lifelike and connects the readers with the real message of the text. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ “used to be descriptions of flesh” and again the sound of /e/ in “the breasts the belly the thighs of Cybele.”
- Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a person, place, thing or idea of a historical, cultural, political or literary significance. The poem alludes to the Greek mythology such as;
“there is in it
a humid porous core
a warm inside
sunflowers at night
the breasts the belly the thighs of Cybele”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. Tadeusz Różewicz has repeated the word “the” in the second stanza of the poem to emphasize the point such as;
“the poppies in november
the lips at night
the most palpable”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “of water is that of thirst” and the sound of /h/ in “the breasts the belly the thighs of Cybele.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example:
“And yet whiteness
can be best described by greyness
a bird by a stone
sunflowers
in December”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Tadeusz Różewicz has used imagery in this poem such as “the breasts the belly the thighs of Cybele”, “source-like description of water is that of thirst,” and “clouds and trees enter/a mirror of water.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. The poet has used love as an extended metaphor just to show how even this emotion has evolved with the passage of time.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “A Sketch for a Modern Love”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows descriptive diction and sarcastic as well as ironic tone.
- Free Verse: The poem shows the use of free verse as it does not follow any rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are five stanzas in this poem having different number of lines.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines from the poem, “A Sketch for a Modern Love” are useful to quote in lectures while talking about the ancient writings.
“love poems of old
used to be descriptions of flesh
they described this and that
for instance eyelashes”
