The analysis of love poems by Emily Dickinson and Robert Burns

Abstract

This study is a content analysis entitled The Analysis of Love Poems by Emily Dickinson and Robert Bums namely: That I did always love, If you were coming in the fall, I cannot live with you, My Love is like a red, red rose, Ae fond kiss, and The Banks Of Bonnie Doon. Elements of poetry such as rhyme, imagery, and theme were employed and utilized in making the tables. The themes and their connection to the triangular love theory by Sternberg were also discussed and presented in tables. Based on the findings, both Emily Dickinson and Robert Bums followed rhyming scheme in their poems. Emily Dickinson used Bible allusions such as Jesus and calvary to convey her sense of meaning to the readers. Unlike Emily Dickinson, Robert Bums used objects to represent love for one another. In the selected love poems, Emily Dickinson mostly talked about eternal love, while Robert Bums described love in many ways such as romantic love, passionate love, and even whirlwind love. Based on Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, Emily Dickinson’s poems highlighted the element such as passion and commitment/decision. There was no mention of intimacy since the speaker was the only one who talked about his/her feeling toward the lover. His/her love was never reciprocated. However, Robert Bums included all the elements of love such as passion, intimacy and commitment because he might have experienced many kinds of love based on his biography.