Essay Questions

Why does the narrator compare Love to a child that is crying in “Love, a child, is ever crying”? Why did Wroth choose this opening line for the title?

The narrator spends the entirety of this poem exemplifying the numerous instances in which she feels Love has betrayed her or acted callously towards her. She opens the poem by describing Love as a child that is always crying. This simple opening establishes the tone for the remainder of the poem, as well as the narrator’s feelings towards the institution of love. The narrator likens Love to a child, for children can often be unthinkingly cruel and unkind. Children are also immature and do not fully understand how their words and actions can greatly affect those around them. It is therefore likely that Wroth chose to use this opening line as the title of her poem due to the fact that it immediately characterizes Love as an immature, unkind, and unthinking being.

Why does the narrator of “Song: Love, a child, is ever crying” refer to Love as a personified character?

It is clear from the narrator’s verbiage and use of tone that she feels very slighted by Love. She perceives Love to be an intentionally cruel, callous, and unkind being. She has based these feelings upon her own experiences with this emotion. It can therefore be surmised that Love is representative of a man, or perhaps several men, who have toyed with the narrator’s emotions. The narrator was in love with these men and, when they betrayed her emotions, they also perverted her understanding of love. Therefore, she now views Love as a personification of her heartbreaking experiences with these men.

In what ways do Wroth’s poems have similar themes?

Both of Wroth’s poems—"Pamphilia To Amphilanthus: Sonnet-1” and “Love, a child, is ever crying”—examine the complexity of romantic desire, as it relates to love. The narrators of both view desire as a potentially dangerous emotion, one that can deceive people into falling in love. Though these poems both examine this theme, they approach it differently. In “Love, a child, is ever crying,” the narrator views desire as the enemy that led her to Love. Love, likely a representation of a man or several men, that betrayed the narrator, is represented as desire’s companion. Conversely, in “Pamphilia To Amphilanthus: Sonnet-1” the narrator views desire as a coy but ultimately redeeming emotion, one that will lead her to love.