Love without Love
By Luis Lloréns Torres
I Love You, because in my thousand and one nights of dreams,
I never once dreamed of you.
I looked down paths that traveled from afar,
but it was never you I expected.Suddenly I’ve felt you flying through my soul
in quick, lofty flight,
and how beautiful you seem way up there, far
from my always idiot heart!Love me that way, flying over everything.
And, like the bird on its branch, land in my arms
only to rest,
then fly off again.Be not like the romantic ones who, in love, set me on fire.
When you climb up my mansion,
enter so lightly, that as you enter
the dog of my heart will not bark.
Summary of Love without Love
- Popularity of “Love without Love”: Love without Love was written by Luis Llorens Torres, an influential Puerto Rican poet, playwright, and politician. It is descriptive poetry and centers on a man hesitant to fall in love with a specific lady. It illustrates how some dark past experiences can hinder a person from accepting love to the fullest.
- “Love without Love” As a Representative of Love: The poem revolves around a man who is conscious of the person who entered his life, and he finds falling in love with her. The speaker declares love for his beloved, stating he has never dreamed of her even once. However, he has always been looking for passionate love. Her sudden arrival in his life seems so exciting. It has enthralled his heart and soul with positive energy. Also, her quick and lofty flight through his soul has made him believe in the magnificent ecstasy of love. He wants his mistress to love him beyond imagination, yet he seems cautious about love as he does not want to lose himself by loving her. His bitter past experiences never let him embrace this new love. Therefore, he advises his beloved to enter his life gently, without disturbing the harmony of his life.
- Major Themes in “Love without Love”: Surprising love and past experiences are the major themes of the poem. The poem explores the feelings and surprising reaction of a man who receives love from a woman. The lady’s sudden arrival in his life amazes him and makes him believe in the unique power of love. Although he gets captivated by and falls in love with that woman, he does not want to experience his past. The choice of words in the second last stanza suggests that the speaker might have endured pain in the name of love. So, this time, he sets conditions before accepting the new lady in his life.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Love without Love
literary devices enrich all literary works, especially poems. The poet has used rich literary devices to bring depth and beauty to the poem. The analysis is given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /a/ in “I looked down paths that traveled from afar,”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, “I” in the first stanza of the poem emphasizes the point.
“I love you, because in my thousand and one nights of dreams,
I never once dreamed of you.
I looked down paths that traveled from afar.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /t/ in “enter so lightly, that as you enter”.
- 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, like the bird on its branch, land in my arms
only to rest,
then fly off again.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “Suddenly I’ve felt you flying through my soul”, “And, like the bird on its branch, land in my arms” and “When you climb up my mansion.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used to love as an extended metaphor in the poem to describe his feelings.
- Simile: It is a device Used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. For example, in the second stanza, he compares love with a bird, “And, like the bird on its branch, land in my arms.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Love without 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.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or metrical pattern.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem with each comprising four lines.
Quotes to be Used
The lines stated below are appropriate for a lover to speak while expressing his heartfelt desires for his beloved.
“Love me that way, flying over everything.
And, like the bird on its branch, land in my arms
only to rest,
then fly off again.”
