Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Love and Marriage" is a poem by Thomas Moore that explores the dichotomy between love and marriage, with the speaker expressing his difficulty in reconciling these two aspects of relationships.

Provenance: Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, songwriter, and entertainer, best known for his songs and lyrical poetry. This poem reflects Moore's often complex views on love and relationships.

Theme Analysis: The poem presents an exploration of the concepts of love and marriage and the inherent conflict between them as perceived by the speaker. It seems to suggest that love and marriage are somehow mutually exclusive; where there is love, marriage cannot exist, and vice versa.

The speaker goes on to describe his ideal partner - one who is beautiful, humble, intelligent, truthful, wise, lively, virtuous, and warm - yet paradoxically, he maintains that even if she possessed all these qualities tenfold, he would still be unable to marry her due to the intensity of his love. This indicates his belief that marriage may dull or even extinguish the passionate love he feels, thus rendering him hesitant to commit.

The poem concludes with a declaration of love's independence and a critique of compulsion in relationships. Love, in the speaker's view, is a free and vibrant emotion, incompatible with the restrictions he associates with marriage.

Poetic Devices: Moore uses several poetic devices in "Love and Marriage," including anaphora, the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, as seen in the lines, "Were she all this ten times over, / All that Heaven to earth allows," which enhances the rhythmic flow and emphasizes the speaker's ideals.

There's also the use of metaphor in the last two lines where love is portrayed as a summer garment, implying its lightness, ease, and fluidity. It subtly contrasts with the constraining and obligatory nature the speaker associates with marriage.

The poem employs a rhyming scheme of ABAB, creating a musical quality and aiding the delivery of the speaker's sentiments. This rhythmic structure is typical of Moore's poetry, contributing to the engaging and lyrical nature of his work.

In sum, "Love and Marriage" presents a romantic's dilemma where love is viewed as a liberating force and marriage as a potential constraint on this freedom. Through this exploration, Moore opens a dialogue about societal norms, personal desires, and the complexities of love and commitment.