Analysis Of Twenty-One Love Poems By Adrienne Rich

In every relationship there is always a back story to be told about how they met each other, maybe their first date, first kiss, their first time holding hands, and many more ways. The story will always be different, that is what makes it special. These things striking between the two is called courtship. Based on Merriam-Webster dictionary courtship refers to, the activities that occur when people are developing a romantic relationship that could lead to marriage or an attempt to convince someone to support you. Since the 17th century the way that someone’s love is shown to someone else has changed a great deal. “Your hand in my hand, my soul inspired, my heart in bliss, because we go together.” Poetry places romance on a pedestal, specifically

“Can it be growing colder when I begin to touch myself again, adhesions pull away? When slowly the naked face turns from staring backward and looks into the present, the wye of winter, city, anger, poverty, and death and the lips part and say, I mean to go on living?” (Shakespeare 1-6) Each of Rich’s Twenty-One Love Poems shows the life that she has chosen just for herself. They show her fight to grow out of the grind of living in a city and rises up to the beauty of love. Throughout these poems we are taken through the ups and downs of her life. In XIX, in the beginning we start out with a down. With the first couple lines it is easy to realize that we start off with some sadness as the tone, growing colder could mean her on going struggle. “As I begin to touch myself again”, this does not mean she is literally touching herself, but it could possibly be a reoccurring memory that bring sad feelings to her. “When slowly the naked face turns from staring backward, and looks into the present.” I believe, that this is taking us from the past to the present. Shows us how one person can bring us back to reality. Modern poetry is very different than 17th century poetry, but it still gets the point across that one person can change your entire world, they can get rid of your sadness, they just might bring the best out of