How to Explain the Concept of Love
The theme upon which the entire poem is constructed is the inadequacy of language to provide a clear and rational definition of love. Through a recurring motif of commencing each stanza with the same query—“Love what art thou?”—the poem systematically answers with figurative language based on comparison. Metaphor is the only tool which the speaker can engage to answer the question and the answer ranges from the abstract like vain fantasies to more concrete symbolism like a flower transforming from sweet bud to dead petals. In the face of something as abstract as love, language fails miserably.
The Definition of Love is Fluid
The speaker’s reliance on metaphor holds that love is both as fresh as morning and as cold as night as well as a sweet flower and the dust in the wind made of its rotted remains. When in the throes of love, it is one thing; when mired in the depths of rejection or the fading bloom of passion extinguished, it is quite another. The people and personalities need not change a bit, but circumstances proscribe that the very same love is looked at from completely opposite perspectives.
Fragile and Fleeting
Love is presented as a thing of great fragility that is not just easily broken, but capable of transforming at incredible speed. Such fragility endows love with both positive and negative aspects. While it can see as delicate and irritating as the tantrum of a child, that very element of love being fleeting is an aspect that makes it so worthy of pursuit. While love can be as tenuous as a bubble in a rain puddle, the fact that it can burst into nothing is an essential part its beauty.
