The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything
Rivers emptying oceans, mountaintops and the surface of the sea, sunlight and moonbeams. These are all examples of the speaker’s contention that the universe is fundamentally comprised upon a foundation of duality. Everywhere and in everything the poet sees union and connection. This connectedness is universal and primal; it is part of the plan of creation and whether by design or circumstance its very existence proves its purpose. Isolation is unnatural and the speaker is making this clear to a potential lover; a standoffish lover who needs convincing.
The Art of Seduction
The speaker makes a convincing argument that the universe in its natural state is a two-fold construction in which nothing exists in alienation form detached from others. Belong and being connected is the natural state so stanza one ends with the question of this is not true of their relationship and moves forward the poem’s concluding line which explicitly asks for a kiss and implicitly suggests not the deny this kiss is to act outside the natural boundaries of existence. In other words, the speaker may very well mean that what he says really is his philosophical perspective. On the other hand, however, one must always consider the alternative: the entire poem is the just the Romantic poet version of “I am so lost. Could you please give me directions…to your heart,” or “You’re gonna need one great lawyer to keep you out of jail for stealing my heart.” From one perspective, “Love’s Philosophy” is a profound consideration of the connectedness that is perceived throughout nature. From another perspective, it is just a rather empty, imagery-laden attempt to seduce someone playing hard to get.
Unrequited Love
Yet another perspective allows this poem to be interpreted as pursuing another theme. Generally, the view is that the speaker is actually directly addressing the resistant lover. But what if the lover isn’t present? What the speaker, heartbroken at being alone, is overcome by the emotional punishment of unrequited love and is speaking to himself with his directed inquiry toward a beloved going unheard? The entire tone and mood of the poem is altered with this change of perspective. The thematic pursuit of the speaker’s philosophy of connectedness takes on a more somber tone of rejected passion and defeated rationalization.
