Emily Dickinson

Twas Love Not Me

poem 394

Twas Love Not Me - meaning Summary

Love's Claim Over Sacrifice

The speaker insists that it was Love, not herself, that bears responsibility for passionate attachment and its moral weight. She frames romantic love as both culpable and sacrificial, invoking religious language to contrast human desire with the singular sacred sacrifice. The poem stages a plea for just judgment: forgive the speaker last, since Love is the guilty party and resembles her so closely that the two are easily confused. The tone mixes irony, deflection, and earnest appeal, exploring guilt, identity, and how devotion can be mistaken for sin.

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‘Twas Love not me Oh punish pray The Real one died for Thee Just Him not me Such Guilt to love Thee most! Doom it beyond the Rest Forgive it last ‘Twas base as Jesus most! Let Justice not mistake We Two looked so alike Which was the Guilty Sake ‘Twas Love’s Now Strike!

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