Writer of “Love Among The Ruins”, Robert Browning is a well-known English poet and is referred to as the successor of Romanticism. He had written poetry of several genres. Browning has gained publicity due to his formulation of dark humour and irony. He was born on 7th May 1812 and died in 1889.
Browning was a part of the second-generation romantic authors like Keats who benefitted from the writings of William Wordsworth and several other events like the French Revolution. He keeps on rebuilding the ruins in his imagination.
“Love Among the Ruins “is referred to as an internal monologue stretching a contrast between the city which once existed and the pastoral landscape where the speaker resides. It is a poem of both intimacy and morality which helps us to visit several spheres of his mind.
It is one of Robert Browning’s remarkable poems which first came in the collection Men and Women in 1855.
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Love Among the Ruins: Summary
Robert Browning’s “Love Among the Ruins” conveys a message which is fascinating as well as comprising of dramatic irony emerging from the speaker’s obsession with the fallen Kingdom. The speaker very carefully does not portray himself in the first person rather the story commences with a description of a green pastoral landscape where the sheep could be seen heading towards their farms before twilight.
He then describes the elegance of the city and how the formal capital of the country prominently stood with a huge population occupying the entire city where is the land now seems to be deserted only with the sheep spending a harmonious time grazing on the plants and weeds. The city which had great power and influence with a continuous extension of policies suddenly changes. The noticeable growth of harmony has got replaced with a minaret.
Certainly, a woman is found waiting for the speaker in the turret of the landscape. An immense expectation of the speaker to come across the lady suggests that the woman is his lover but it also reminds him that the king of the kingdom once stood and from that spot, he used to send armies to expand and secure the kingdom. His lover is exactly waiting in the same place and he is very passionate to meet her.
In the end, comparing the two scenarios, he stretches a conclusion and says the best feeling in the world is love and no control can beat the power of intimacy.
Love Among the Ruins Analysis
The poem came into existence in 1855, acquiring an initial message by holding the attributes of complications and simplicity yet fascinating story of the city and the pastoral landscape. The speaker explains the city in terms of its movement as a great place for importing several products along with its astounding and vibrant scenery with numerous negative attributes.
It has been successful in the execution of a kingdom peacefully and had acquired huge gold yet the King fails to possess personality due to which massive population migrated. The speaker does not mention any particular name but rather the entire countrymen. He carefully stretches a contrast over here with the landscape where the peace and solace are not temporal. The usage of language at the beginning is also quite authentic and prominent.
He concludes the poem by placing a question that ‘Which one is better?’. An individual that is his beloved has personalized the landscape and patiently waits for the speaker and he again stretches a contrast between the city, especially the spot that once existed on this sphere.
His silent lover is provoking him to either glorify the impulse of the landscape that stood once escalating upon the risky stakes of building an empire by fighting the war and securing the peace of the commoners or he should satisfy himself with the simplicity of this lover waiting for him patiently to meet him with such low-stakes.
Most of the poem is dedicated to decorating the life of this town. Such technique is unusual and plays an important role against the usual structure of the poem that is generally explained in terms of glorifying women and their relationships. The speaker’s mind might have undergone captivity due to which he remained stuck in his imagination instead of concentrating on his lover’s simplicity.
The complications and its simplicity have been addressed in several parts of the poem. The speaker explains the theme of time where he points out the fact that the thing which was lively once has inherited simplicity as in the poem the city got demolished and with the destruction the atmosphere achieved a new beginning of calm and serenity.
This movement is quite psychological as the poet is engrossed by his imagination rather than focusing on his lover’s existence in a pastoral landscape.
Settings
The setting is complicated as the speaker tends to shift and visit from the present to the past in every stanza. With the portrayal of the kingdom, the setting of the poem addresses the sphere where the speaker applies certain words like pastoral landscape, quiet and beautiful. His paintings of the atmosphere of serenity remain intact throughout the poem.
He keeps on adding new elements to the existing picture. Although the picture constantly changes as he tries to explain the entire history of the past within a few stanzas. He says that the dynasty was great with a huge population existing in the entire town and it was expanding gradually due to which the town had to encounter several wars. Robert Browning was speaking about the eternal disturbance of the city along with its present atmosphere.
Meter
The larger lines are referred to as the trochaic pentameters while the sentences which are smaller contain two syllables. When a poem consists of 10 syllables or there is a 5 feet gap in each sentence it is known as a pentameter but as this poem consists of 11 syllables, it tends to give a feminine conclusion.
Rhyme Scheme
The poem is comprised of an AABB scheme which refers to numerous couplets. This adds some musical field to the poem or may emphasize the speaker’s admiration of the past city. Robert Browning can also be the speaker himself as he possessed a great connection between classics and historical events that especially took place in Rome. The rhyme scheme remains stuck to its norms throughout the poem that existed once for the advancement of Rome.
Alliteration and Consonance
Robert Browning uses phonetic devices such as alliteration and Consonance. He refills both the experiences of the past and present with complexities and simplicity. With the word ‘tinkle’, he applies consonance in the line as the sounds of the poem are related to the speaker’s beating of the heart where the harshness automatically softens with the arrival of his lover.
Suddenly the tide revolves and the softness of the sound turns harsh. The two sounds have different meanings and aspects which stretch the existence of alliteration. The expression of despair with a slight wave of impeccably dreamy atmosphere portrays the city which was ancient with palpable and petrified imagery. Robert Browning has possibly used an image to convey the message to the readers that one should always look forward to living the past behind searching for the brighter aspect of the future.
FAQs
What kind of poem is ‘Love Among the Ruins‘?
In the poem, we find Robert Browning is stretching a comparison between the theme of love and materialistic glory. It consists of rhyming couplets with a combination of trochaic lines additionally pairing it with short sentences comprised of syllables.
What is the theme of ‘Love Among the Ruins‘?
There are four major themes in “Love Among the Ruins”: Past, intimacy, maturity, and Beauty of Nature. Throughout the poem, we find that his lover is waiting in a dramatic landscape for him. After overcoming all the battles, the city happens to be the origin of the trade.
What is the symbolism of ‘How Do I Love Thee’?
The poem suggests that the primary motive of life is to love and to be loved. The affection and admiration must arise for the lover’s internal qualities instead of the external attributes as a person’s nature and personality do not fade away with the passage of time. Such a way of expressing love tends to form a new way of affection for ‘thee’.
Why does Browning conclude love among the ruins with the words love is best?
Robert Browning is trying to show that the power of admiration and intimacy cannot be compared with any other and therefore a human being fails to control such feelings. Two of these poems suggest that love possesses the power to demolish all the evil norms of society and it enables a couple to unwrap themselves from all negatives.
How does Browning present the search for love in his poem ‘Love in a Life‘?
Robert Browning in the poem is afraid of losing his lover. The speaker of the poem searches for his lover in a house but unfortunately, she always used to leave the room just before the speaker arrives.