The Amulet
The Amulet - meaning Summary
Fear of Fading Love
Emerson's poem contrasts enduring tokens—pictures, rings, letters—with the uncertain, changeable reality of another's feeling. The speaker imagines an amulet that would change color with the beloved's love as a desire for a visible, reliable sign. The poem ends in anxiety: vows and possessions cannot prove ongoing affection, and the speaker fears that love has quietly ceased despite outward reminders.
Read Complete AnalysesYour picture smiles as first it smiled, The ring you gave is still the same, Your letter tells, O changing child, No tidings since it came. Give me an amulet That keeps intelligence with you, Red when you love, and rosier red, And when you love not, pale and blue. Alas, that neither bonds nor vows Can certify possession; Torments me still the fear that love Died in its last expression.
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