Essay on The Themes of Love in Romantic and Victorian Poetry

The Themes of Love in Romantic and Victorian Poetry Within this essay I shall be comparing the themes of love used in ‘Red, Red Rose’ by Robert Burns, ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti, ‘So We’ll Go No More A-Roving’ by Lord Bryon, ‘Sonnet XVIII’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese XLIII’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. To do this I will analyse the different themes of love portrayed by each poet, how the love is declared and explore the ways in which language is used and what effect this has on the reader. There are many differences within these five poems, however they all share one common theme, which is the type of love expressed- Eros; the love felt for a partner.†¦show more content†¦Within his poem he describes his love as ‘new’ and his love does not indicate a sense of eternity. Unlike Browning and more similarly to Shakespeare he creates a sense of the love vanishing after death. Both Shakespeare and Burns state that their love will only last until the end of the world; â€Å"So long as men can breathe and eyes can see.† (Shakespeare.) â€Å"Till a the seas gang dry†¦ And the rocks melt wi’ the sun† (Burns.) Christina Rossetti’s love is neither a way of expressing love nor stating that she is in love. Her theme of love is one tinged with a sense of loss and a gentle reminder that it is not good to grieve for our lost loves if it makes us sad as reflected in the last lines; â€Å"Better by far that you should forget and smile Than you should remember and be sad.† Rossetti also is not declaring the way she feels about love of her lover. She is expressing her sorrow that she must die and leave him and also the aspect she wishes her lover to think of her death as. In ‘So We’ll Go No More A-Roving’ Lord Bryon, also, is neither declaring his love nor describing how he felt whilst in love. 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