"Against Love" Essay

"Against Love" Essay by Tracy Au (2006)

Katherine Philips’ poem “Against Love” (pg.68) is written to Cupid discussing how love is not beautiful at all. There are many conflicts that come with love. Love causes arguments, jealousy, and drama which makes people weak and it leads to them getting hurt. Getting caught up in the idea of love will mislead you to the wrong person and to a destructive relationship.

The theme is that love is not perfect like the majority of people think it is. This poem is written to Cupid even though he is not a real person. That is personification. It starts off with: “Hence, Cupid! with your cheating toys.” That line tells Cupid to leave and take his ideas of love away. “Makes his own idol, and then worships it.” (Line 10). He makes an idol over the idea of love than the person that he loves. “Him whose heart is all his own,/ Peace and liberty does crown;/ He apprehends no killing frown.” (Line 11, 12, 13). By not giving your heart away, you will never get hurt. You will have “peace and liberty” without necessarily falling in love.

The figurative language has metaphors: “Hence, Cupid! with your cheating toys,” (Line 1). The poet seems to be pointing at Cupid’s bow and arrow as if they are toys. How Cupid cheats with them because no one else has the power to match people up by shooting an arrow. Love is like a game and he has all the game pieces. He has the control to create who falls in love with whom. Another metaphor: “Men’s weakness makes love so severe, /They give him power by their fear,” (Lines 6, 7). Men are weak and love is strong and can take over them. Men are overpowered by love and become scared by it.

There is the paradox: “Your real griefs, and painted joys,” (line 2). Love can only bring you grief and since it’s real, the pain is going to last longer than the love. Joy and happiness from love is a facade. It is like painting a picture. It looks nice and colorful, but it can wash right off and doesn’t last very long. It is just like love, because it is fickle. Another paradox is: “Your pleasure which itself destroys.” (Line 3). Happiness does not last. Pleasure will destroy itself; after it destroys you and your life first. There are similes: “Lovers like men in fevers burn and rave/ And only what will injure them do crave” (Lines 4, 5) communicates that love hurts. Men like what they can’t have and what’s bad for them. Pain is pleasure for them. They know better, but since they are sick, they can’t control themselves. A metaphor: “And make the shackles which they wear.” (Line 8). Love keeps men in chains and holds them down. They are prisoners of love. They will never be free from it unless they control love than letting love control them.

The structure is like a sonnet. Sonnets consist of fourteen lines and this poem is fifteen lines. They are mainly about love and how good it is. This poem is against love, like the title says. The rhyme scheme is that three lines rhyme together and then two lines rhyme together.

The diction uses cacophony with the sounds of how the poem starts off with an exclamation mark. It has harsh sounds such as the t’s in “cheating toys, submit, worships it.” There are also the tough noise of the v’s in “rave, crave, severe.” Words like: “crown, frown, diseased, pleased” sounds unpleasant to the ear. “Crown” and “frown” are assonants. The consonants of “severe” and “fear” rhymes, but there is a disharmony to it.

“He feels no raptures, which are joys diseased,” (Line 14.) He doesn’t feel the pain because he’s not caught up by love. If he was carried off by love, he would experience the artificial joys from it. It would be substandard. “And is not much transported, but still pleased.” (Line 15). He doesn’t get love, but he’s fine with it. In fact, it is even better than getting swept up in fabricated sentimentality.

The message in the poem is to not get caught up in love, because it is fickle. Love isn’t that great because it brings pain and heartbreak. Love is only good, if you don’t get swept up in the idea and fantasy of it, but the realities of it. Good things will come to people who keep their heart.