I Loved You
by Alexander Pushkin, translated by Babette Deutsch
I loved you; and perhaps I love you still,
The flame, perhaps, is not extinguished; yet
It burns so quietly within my soul,
No longer should you feel distressed by it.Silently and hopelessly I loved you,
At times too jealous and at times too shy.
God grant you find another who will love you
As tenderly and truthfully as I.
Summary of I Loved You
- Popularity of “I Loved You”: This beautifully concise love poem “I Loved You” was written by Alexander Pushkin, a Russian poet of the 19th The poem first appeared in 1830. It presented the idea of love with blessings even after the failure, which was quite contrary to the existing norms of love and its attendant features of those times. The poet recalls his love, his feeling toward it, and the blessings that he seeks for his love. The popularity of the poem rests on these finer feelings of the poet for his beloved.
- “I Loved You” As a Representative of Selfless Love and Tenderness: The poet presents a first-person speaker whose thoughts focus on his love. He states that he used to love his beloved and still loves her. Comparing this to a flame, he states that it silently stays within his soul and would not cause distress to his beloved. Although he adds that he has been jealous, shy, and hopeless, he does not wish badly for her. Rather, he prays to God that his beloved should find a good person. Interestingly, the speaker states that the person to whom she showers her love should be as tender and truthful as he is.
- Major Themes in “I Loved You”: Truthful, tender, and selfless love are the major themes of this poem. Although the poem involves loving his beloved selflessly, he sets his love apart from others in that his love is always alive like a flame that burns quietly and that it does not bother him. Second, he wants his beloved to be loved with the same tenderness and truthfulness as he has displayed in his love. He does not feel jealous though at times he has been in the past. His prayer displays his tenderness and selflessness.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in I Loved You
Alexander Pushkin’s poetic skill lies in using literary devices dexterously. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /o/ in “I loved you; and perhaps I love you still.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /t/ in “At times too jealous…”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “When you get what you want in your struggle for self” and in “At times too jealous and at times too shy.”
- 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;
God grant you find another who will love you
As tenderly and truthfully as I.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Dale Wimbrow has used imagery in this poem such as “It burns so quietly within my soul”, and “The flame, perhaps, is not extinguished; yet.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. Pushkin used flame as a metaphor for his inner feelings about his beloved.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in I Loved You
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Dale Wimbrow has used end rhyme in this poem such as “yet/it and shy/I.”
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABAB rhyme scheme, and this pattern continues until the end.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote to pray for the people we love.
Silently and hopelessly I loved you,
At times too jealous and at times too shy.
God grant you find another who will love you
As tenderly and truthfully as I.
