The Clear Value of Romantic Love: "Soeur Louise de la Misericorde," "Twice," and Other Poems Anonymous 12th Grade

The idea of romantic love being presented as invariably negative in 19th century literature is questionable to some extent. Romantic love is often characterised as being damaging and hurtful in Rossetti’s poetry through the contrast with divine love in poems such as ‘Soeur Louise de la Misericorde’ and ‘Twice’, supported by her religious devotion and dedication to God. However in other poems such as ‘A Birthday’, romantic love is presented as something that brings a newfound vitality to the speaker’s life. Through closer analysis of these three poems, it becomes possible to disprove the idea that romantic love is invariably presented in a negative light.

This idea of romantic love being invariably negative is explored in the poem ‘Soeur Louise de la Misericorde’. The poem centres around a woman who has recently become a nun, in order to distance herself from her identity with earthly love: ‘I have desired and been desired’. The first line immediately creates a wistful tone, suggesting that the speaker is unable to recall her experiences with earthly love without feeling the emotional pain attached to it. Similarly, the use of the past tense indicates that the speaker is desperately attempting to distance herself from her...