Poem Analysis - The Sorrow Of Love

A Landscape Overwhelmed by Grief

William Butler Yeats's "The Sorrow Of Love" is a short, evocative poem that explores the overwhelming power of love and loss. The poem moves from a state of natural beauty and detachment to one deeply immersed in sorrow and human experience. The tone initially suggests a tranquil indifference, only to be consumed by profound grief embodied in a symbolic figure. The poem's shift in focus reveals how deeply personal emotion can alter one's perception of the world.

From Indifference to Immense Sorrow

The opening stanza establishes a scene of natural harmony, almost to the point of indifference to human concerns. "The brawling of a sparrow," "the brilliant moon," and "the famous harmony of leaves" create a picture of a world absorbed in its own beauty, effectively "blotting out man's image and his cry." This suggests an initial state of detachment or perhaps even the peace found in nature, a state devoid of the emotional turmoil that humans experience. It sets the stage for the dramatic shift that occurs with the arrival of the sorrowful figure.

The Embodiment of Universal Suffering

The central theme of the poem is the overpowering nature of sorrow, particularly in the context of love. This sorrow is personified by the "girl" who "arose that had red mournful lips/ And seemed the greatness of the world in tears." She is not merely sad; she embodies a universal grief, a sense of suffering that transcends individual experience. This is further emphasized by the comparisons to "Odysseus and the labouring ships" and "Priam murdered with his peers," connecting her sorrow to the historical and mythological burdens of humanity. These allusions elevate her personal sadness to a symbolic representation of the sorrow inherent in the human condition. This suggests the poem is about love not just as a joyful experience, but as one inextricably linked with suffering and loss. Love creates the possibility of deep sorrow.

Nature Transformed by Emotion

The poem utilizes powerful imagery to convey its message. The moon, initially "brilliant," becomes a "climbing moon upon an empty sky," suggesting a loss of its initial radiance and fullness. Similarly, the "harmony of leaves" transforms into a "lamentation of the leaves," reflecting the shift from peaceful indifference to overwhelming sorrow. This transformation of natural elements symbolizes how personal emotion can profoundly alter one's perception of the external world. The earlier natural beauty did not change, but its appearance to the speaker changed in line with his internal state. The image of the "red mournful lips" is particularly striking, suggesting both beauty and pain, a physical manifestation of the sorrow that permeates the poem. What exactly caused the sorrow is left ambiguous, it could be caused by love, or loss, but the effect of the sorrow itself is what matters.

A World Defined by Sorrow

In conclusion, "The Sorrow Of Love" is a powerful exploration of the transformative power of grief. The poem moves from a state of natural indifference to one utterly consumed by sorrow, personified in the figure of the weeping girl. Through vivid imagery and classical allusions, Yeats creates a sense of universal suffering, suggesting that love and sorrow are inextricably intertwined. The poem's significance lies in its ability to capture the overwhelming nature of grief and its capacity to reshape our perception of the world. The final lines demonstrate the permanency of the change to the speaker's world, as the natural harmony and indifference cannot remove the sorrow the girl introduced.