imagery essay about love

• Imagery Poems About Love: Discover the Magic of Words

The Power of Imagery in Love Poetry

1. "love's alchemy" by john donne, 2. "she walks in beauty" by lord byron, 3. "how do i love thee" by elizabeth barrett browning, 4. "the good-morrow" by john donne, unlocking the beauty of love through imagery.

Poetry has long been a medium for expressing the deepest emotions, and love is perhaps the most profound of them all. When it comes to love poetry, imagery plays a crucial role in evoking emotions and creating vivid mental pictures. These imagery poems take readers on a journey through the complexities of love, painting a picture with words and allowing us to experience the magic of love in a unique way.

"Some that have deeper digged love's mine than I, Say, where his centric happiness doth lie: I have loved, and got, and told, But should I love, get, tell, till I were old, I should not find that hidden mystery."

In this exquisite poem, Donne uses the metaphor of alchemy to describe the transformative power of love. The imagery of "digging" and "mines" suggests that love is something to be discovered, and its true essence remains hidden. The poet acknowledges his own limitations in understanding love's secrets and conveys a sense of wonder and curiosity.

"She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes;"

In this timeless poem, Byron uses vivid imagery to describe the woman he loves. The contrasting images of "dark and bright" and "cloudless climes and starry skies" illustrate her beauty and captivate the reader's imagination. Through the power of imagery, the poet portrays the woman's inner and outer beauty, creating a lasting impression of love's enchantment.

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace."

In this heartfelt sonnet, Browning uses powerful imagery to convey the depth and intensity of love. By measuring love's vastness in terms of "depth," "breadth," and "height," the poet suggests that love knows no bounds. Through this imagery, Browning captures the infinite nature of love and its ability to transcend physical limitations.

"And makes one little room an everywhere. Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, Let maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown, Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one."

In this profound poem, Donne uses imagery to express the unity and completeness found in love. The image of "one little room" becoming "an everywhere" suggests that love can create a world of its own, where two souls become interconnected. Through these vivid images, the poet conveys the idea that true love creates a sense of wholeness and belonging.

Imagery poems about love have a way of reaching deep into our hearts, allowing us to experience the beauty and complexity of this profound emotion. Through vivid descriptions and carefully chosen metaphors, these poems transport us to a realm where words become a tapestry of emotions and images.

Whether it's Donne's exploration of love's mysteries, Byron's enchanting portrayal of beauty, Browning's depiction of boundless love, or Donne's vision of love's unity, these imagery poems remind us of love's power to evoke emotions and create lasting impressions.

So, let yourself be carried away by the magic of imagery poems about love. Dive into the realm of emotions, where words become brushstrokes painting vibrant pictures of love's many facets. Let these poems guide you on a journey of exploration, where the beauty and complexity of love await.

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William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More

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Sonnet 18: Introduction

Sonnet 18 analysis: literary devices, sonnet 18: tone and themes, symbolism and imagery in the sonnet 18, literary analysis of sonnet 18: conclusion, works cited.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? The Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is one of the most known Shakespeare’s sonnets. Want to learn more about the themes, tone, and imagery in Sonnet 18 ? Read the literary analysis below!

This essay analyzes Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 . The sonnet is a captivating love story of a young man fascinated by the beauty of his mistress and affectionately comparing her to nature. The first stanza, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ opens the poem with an indication of a young man deeply in love (Shakespeare 1). He envisions her as a beautiful creature and even wonders whether one can compare her beauty to any summer season.

This love sonnet falls under the lyric genre, with the author expressing deep emotional feelings for his mistress throughout the poem. The first stanza gives an assumption to the reader that the poet is not sure of what is more beautiful, a beautiful summer day or his mistress.

However, the air is cleared in the preceding stanzas that see the poet overcome by flamboyant feelings and admits that his lover is even lovelier than the summer itself (Shakespeare 2). The poem embeds an image of an undying and eternal kind of beauty as visualized by the poet.

The poet adopts a thematic structure technique to express his lover’s beauty. A line-by-line analysis of Sonnet 18 shows that the first stanza acts as an eye-opener of the poet’s attempt to compare his lover with summer. He goes on to state why his lover is better. Stanzas 1-6 give a solid reason as to why one cannot compare his lover to summer. Though summer appears to be beautiful, it is not constant and can be very disappointing if solely relied upon. It also does not last as long as his lover’s beauty would.

The stanzas give detailed answers to his rhetorical question posed at the beginning of the poem. The poet’s praises and awe are well expressed in these stanzas by revealing all the beautiful qualities seized by his mistress. Her beauty is constant and can neither be shaken by strong winds nor can it become unpredictable like the hot sun. It doesn’t waiver in the eyes of the beholder like the clouds swallow the summer hence losing its beauty.

Stanzas 7-14 indicates everlasting beauty, which he says cannot be claimed by anything, not even a natural calamity such as death. In the conclusion of the Sonnet 18 , W. Shakespeare admits that ‘Every fair from fair sometime decline,’ he makes his mistress’s beauty an exception by claiming that her youthful nature will never fade (Shakespeare 7). Interestingly, the author takes a different twist in the ending when he no longer compares the beauty to the summer but rather to the immortality of his poems (Shakespeare 14).

The poem features an affectionate mood portrayed by the poet throughout the poem. The tone of the Sonnet 18 is that of the romantic intimacy of a young man intrigued by a woman’s beauty. The mood and the tone, therefore, play a significant role in describing the setting of the poem.

The poet is sitting in a field on a warm summer day (Shakespeare 1). Though the weather seems ideal, it is breezy, with rough winds’ shaking the buds of May’ (Shakespeare 3). That is an indication that the poet is sitting under a tree enjoying the scenery on a hot afternoon. The poet enjoys the unpredictable weather till the clouds swallow the sun, and as he states, ‘By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’ d,’ nature always seems to take its course during sunset and sunrise (Shakespeare 8).

The poet uses metaphor and personification to bring life to the Sonnet 18 . For example, he uses figurative speech to presume change, fate, and immortality. He speaks of how he will internally save his lover’s beauty from fading from the face of the earth (Shakespeare 12). ‘Summer’ as a literary device is used to mean the life of the mistress that should be safe from fate. Fate, in this case, is portrayed by the use of scorching sun and rough winds.

The imagery of the Sonnet 18 includes personified death and rough winds. The poet has even gone further to label the buds as ‘darling’ (Shakespeare 3). Death serves as a supervisor of ‘its shade,’ which is a metaphor for ‘after life’ (Shakespeare 11). All these actions are related to human beings. ‘Eternal lines to lines though growest’ (Shakespeare 12) is a praise of the poet’s poems which he says will last forever so long as ‘men can breathe or eyes can see,’ a metaphor symbolizing ‘poet lovers’ will be there to read them (Shakespeare 13).

He views beauty as an art that cannot diminish despite all the hurdles in life. However, beauty does not apply to everything but only to images that appeal more to the eyes of the beholder than nature itself. That kind of beauty is immortal and surpasses all tribulations caused by nature itself.

This essay on the Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare analyzed the poem’s tone, imagery, meaning, and main themes. In summary, the poet is fascinated by his mistress’s beauty, such that he cannot imagine that very beauty fading from his eyes. He argues that beauty is constant and, unlike a ‘summer day,’ is not affected by any changes or fate at all. He, however, seems to be praising his poem as characterized at the end of the poem, where he only compares the everlasting beauty to his text. The Sonnet eighteen’s conclusion indicates that beauty can only end only when the poem ceases to exist.

Shakespeare, William. “ Shakespeare Sonnet 18. ” Shakespeare Sonnets . 1564. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, October 11). William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/

"William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More." IvyPanda , 11 Oct. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More'. 11 October.

IvyPanda . 2018. "William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More." October 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/.

1. IvyPanda . "William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More." October 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More." October 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/.

14 Modern Literary Passages That Beautifully Describe Every Part Of Love

• https://thoughtcatalog.com/?p=653218

1. “‘I am,’ he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. ‘I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.’”

– The Fault In Our Stars , John Green

2. “People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.”

– Wild Awake , Hilary T. Smith

3. “No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater … The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key. It’s like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot.”

— This Lullaby , Sarah Dessen

4. “I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me.”

— The Amber Spyglass , Phillip Pullman

5. “I love you also means I love you more than anyone loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that no one loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that I love no one else, and never have loved anyone else, and never will love anyone else.”

— Everything Is Illuminated , Jonathan Safran Foer

6. “All his life he would hold this moment as exemplary of what love was. It was not wanting anything more, nor was it expecting people to exceed what they had just accomplished; it was simply feeling so complete.”

– A Widow For One Year , John Irving

7. “Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”

– The History Of Love , Nicole Krauss

8. “His examination revealed that he had no fever, no pain anywhere, and that his only concrete feeling was an urgent desire to die. All that was needed was shrewd questioning…to conclude once again that the symptoms of love were the same as those of cholera.”

— Love in the Time of Cholera , Gabriel García Márquez

9. “Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That’s what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.”

– Delirium , Lauren Oliver

10. “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.”

— Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , J.K. Rowling

11. “Passion makes a person stop eating, sleeping, working, feeling at peace. A lot of people are frightened because, when it appears, it demolishes all the old things it finds in its path.

No one wants their life thrown into chaos. That is why a lot of people keep that threat under control, and are somehow capable of sustaining a house or a structure that is already rotten. They are the engineers of the superseded.

Other people think exactly the opposite: they surrender themselves without a second thought, hoping to find in passion the solutions to all their problems. They make the other person responsible for their happiness and blame them for their possible unhappiness. They are either euphoric because something marvelous has happened or depressed because something unexpected has just ruined everything.

Keeping passion at bay or surrendering blindly to it – which of these two attitudes is the least destructive?

I don’t know.”

― Eleven Minutes , Paulo Coelho

12. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

– The Velveteen Rabbit , Margery Williams

13. “A love story is not about those who lose their heart but about those who find that sullen inhabitant who, when it is stumbled upon, means the body can fool no one, can fool nothing— not the wisdom of sleep or the habit of social graces. It is a consuming of oneself and the past.”

— The English Patient , Michael Ondaatje

14. “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

About the author

Liz was born, raised, and schooled in the Chicago area. Every year, she is sure the Cubs will win the World Series, and one of these years, she’ll be right.

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Symbolism and Imagery in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

This essay about “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot explores the rich use of symbolism and imagery throughout the poem, such as the urban decay, the sea, mermaids, and literary and mythological references. These elements are analyzed for their contribution to the poem’s themes of alienation, indecision, and existential angst, effectively highlighting Prufrock’s internal struggle and sense of disconnection. The urban landscapes mirror his desolation, while the sea and mermaids symbolize the unattainable desires and mysteries of existence that elude him. Literary allusions further contextualize Prufrock’s feelings of inadequacy and his quest for meaning. Through this analysis, the essay demonstrates how Eliot’s use of symbolism and imagery deepens the emotional impact and thematic complexity of the poem, portraying the modern condition’s tension between desire and despair.

How it works

T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” emerges as a meticulously crafted mosaic of symbolism and imagery, intricately woven to delve into the poem’s thematic depths and emotional resonance. Through the evocative portrayal of urban vistas, the enigmatic allure of the sea, the haunting mystique of mermaids, and intertextual references to literature and mythology, Eliot constructs a multilayered narrative that probes themes of estrangement, indecision, and existential anxiety. These symbols not only enhance the textual fabric but also contribute substantially to the establishment of a mood that is simultaneously introspective and universally poignant.

The urban terrain in “Prufrock” is rendered with a palpable sense of decay and detachment, serving as a potent emblem of contemporary alienation. The depiction of “half-deserted streets,” “one-night cheap hotels,” and “sawdust restaurants” conjures an image of a world characterized by desolation and dissatisfaction, mirroring Prufrock’s internal despondency. This imagery of urban dilapidation is juxtaposed with allusions to the natural realm and the mythical, creating a stark dichotomy that accentuates Prufrock’s sensation of being ensnared between two realms, neither of which he fully inhabits.

The motif of the sea emerges as a symbol of both the enigmatic and the unattainable. The recurrent evocation of “the chambers of the sea,” where mermaids serenade, symbolizes the depths of the subconscious and the enigmas of existence that Prufrock perceives as beyond his grasp or comprehension. This imagery intimates a yearning for transcendence or liberation from the mundane realities of his existence, yet it also evokes a profound resignation to his incapacity to break free from his existential inertia.

Mermaids within the poem epitomize unattainable aspirations and the allure of the perpetually beyond. Prufrock’s assertion that he has “heard the mermaids singing, each to each. / I do not think that they will sing to me” underscores his profound sense of inadequacy and exclusion. The mermaids, with their ethereal allure and captivating melodies, embody the ideals and experiences that Prufrock yearns for but deems himself unworthy of attaining. This imagery reinforces the poem’s exploration of yearning, seclusion, and the dread of rejection.

Furthermore, Eliot’s intertextual references to literature and mythology contextualize Prufrock’s predicament within a broader cultural and historical framework. Allusions to figures such as Hamlet and John the Baptist not only enrich the poem’s symbolic tapestry but also underscore Prufrock’s self-awareness and acute cognizance of his own deficiencies when measured against such illustrious precedents. These references deepen the reader’s comprehension of Prufrock’s existential anguish and his endeavor to unearth meaning and significance in a world seemingly indifferent to his existence.

In summary, the symbolism and imagery in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” are pivotal to its enduring potency and intricacy. Eliot utilizes these elements to construct a nuanced narrative that plumbs the depths of human sentiment and the existential quandaries of contemporary existence. The urban decay, the enigmatic sea, the elusive mermaids, and the literary and mythological allusions converge to form a poem that is at once intensely personal and universally poignant. Through these symbols, Eliot encapsulates the essence of the modern condition: the tension between aspiration and desolation, the pursuit of meaning in an inscrutable world, and the poignant allure of yearning for the unattainable. “Prufrock” endures as a seminal work in the modernist canon, beckoning readers to contemplate the intricacies of the human spirit and the enigmatic fabric of existence itself.

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Definition of Imagery

Love, whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world.

Common Examples of Imagery in Everyday Speech

Types of poetic imagery, famous examples of imagery in shakespearean works, writing imagery, difference between literal imagery and figurative imagery.

There is a slight difference in literal and figurative imagery. Literal imagery, as the name applies, is near in meanings and almost the same thing or exactly what the description says. For example, color like the red rose implies the same thing. However, in figurative imagery, a thing is often not what it implies. There is often the use of hyperbole , simile , or metaphors that construct an image that could be different from the actual thing or person. For example, his cries moved the sky is not an example of literal imagery but of figurative imagery as the skies do not move with cries.

Tips to Analyze Imagery

Use of imagery in sentences, examples of imagery in literature.

Though imagery is often associated with poetry, it is an effective literary device in all forms of writing. Writers utilize imagery as a means of communicating their thoughts and perceptions on a deeper and more memorable level with readers. Imagery helps a reader formulate a visual picture and sensory impression of what the writer is describing as well as the emotions attached to the description. In addition, imagery is a means of showcasing a writer’s mastery of artistic and figurative language, which also enhances the meaning and enjoyment of a literary work for a reader.

Example 1:  Goblin Market (Christina Rossetti)

Early in the morning When the first cock crow’d his warning, Neat like bees, as sweet and busy, Laura rose with Lizzie: Fetch’d in honey, milk’d the cows, Air’d and set to rights the house, Kneaded cakes of whitest wheat, Cakes for dainty mouths to eat, Next churn’d butter, whipp’d up cream, Fed their poultry, sat and sew’d; Talk’d as modest maidens should: Lizzie with an open heart, Laura in an absent dream, One content, one sick in part; One warbling for the mere bright day’s delight, One longing for the night.

In this passage of her poem , Rossetti uses all forms of poetic imagery to appeal to the reader’s physical senses as well as their experience of motion and internal emotions. The reader can visualize the actions taking place in the poem along with a sense of orderly movement paired with disordered emotion. As the sisters Lizzie and Laura go about their maidenly and pastoral tasks, the poet’s description of their divergent mindsets and feelings creates an imagery of the tension between darkness and light, innocence and temptation. These contrasting images evoke unsettled and contradictory feelings for the reader, undermining the appearance of the sisters’ idyllic lives with a sense of foreboding.

Example 2:  The Yellow Wallpaper  (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)

The color is repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight. It is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others. No wonder the children hated it! I should hate it myself if I had to live in this room long.

Example 3:  The Red Wheelbarrow  (William Carlos Williams)

so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens

Synonyms of Imagery

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By Eavan Boland

‘Love’ was published in Eavan Boland’s 1994 collection In a Time of Violence. It speaks on themes of love, regret, and memory. 

Eavan Boland

Her poetry focuses on Irish life and often takes a feminist perspective .

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

‘Love’ was published in Eavan Boland’s 1994 collection In a Time of Violence. It speaks on themes of love, regret, and memory.  

Explore Love

• 1 Summary 
• 2 Structure 
• 3 Poetic Techniques
• 4 Analysis of Love

Summary  

The poem begins with several images of a small, simple town. These are contrasted with those of a hero entering into death. The speaker directs her words to her partner, telling this person about their lives together and how there are moments she wants to return to the past. They once almost lost their child, but they were also so deeply in love. This emotional existence is long since gone, though. Now, they are adjusted to a new, less passionate relationship.  

Structure  

‘ Love’ by Eavan Boland is a six-stanza poem that’s separated into uneven sets of lines. These stanzas range in length from three to thirteen lines each. Although there is no single rhyme scheme , there are examples of half-rhyme within the text. These are seen through the repetition of assonance or consonance . This means that either a vowel or consonant sound is reused within one line or multiple lines of verse .

For an example of consonance, a reader can look to the third line of the first stanza with the repetition of the “d” sound in “Dusk,” “hidden,” and “bridge”. There is another example with the “r” sound in line one of the second stanza, with the words “far,” “from,” “here,” “our,” and “apartment”.   For an example of assonance, a reader should look to line twelve of the second stanza with the repetition of the “o” sound in “no,” and “knowing”.  

Poetic Techniques

Boland also makes use of several poetic techniques. These include alliteration , enjambment , anaphora , and caesura . The latter, caesura, occurs when a line is split in half, sometimes with punctuation, sometimes not. The third line of the second stanza is a great example: “We had a view. And we discovered there”.  

A reader will also notice alliteration in ‘Love’. It is seen when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same letter. For example, “snow” and “shoulders” are in line three of the fourth stanza and line four of the third stanza with: “Across our day-to-day and ordinary distances”.  

Boland also makes use of anaphora, or the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. There is a perfect example of the second stanza. Lines two and three both begin with “We had a”.  

Another important technique commonly used in poetry is enjambment. It occurs when a line is cut off before its natural stopping point. Enjambment forces a reader down to the next line, and the next, quickly. One has to move forward in order to comfortably resolve a phrase or sentence. There are examples throughout ‘Love’ but one includes the transit between lines one and two of the first stanza.  

Analysis of Love

Dark falls on this mid-western town where we once lived when myths collided. Dusk has hidden the bridge in the river which slides and deepens (…) the hero crossed on his way to hell.

In the first stanza of ‘Love,’ the speaker begins by describing the past. She recalls a “mid-western town” and how the light faded from day to dusk, to night. When it was disappearing the “bridge in the river” became hidden. The bridge is described in mystical language, connecting it to undefined legends and myths . (Alluding vaguely to the river Styx in Greek mythology ).  She speaks of “the hero” and how it is on this bridge that “slides and deepens,” transforming into the water, that he crossed on “his way to hell”.  

Within this stanza, and in the rest of the poem, the mundane is mixed with the legendary. The speaker discusses her own life in a mid-western town and her love in combination with the story of an unknown hero. The poet’s tone is nostalgic, but at times also sorrowful.  

Stanza Two  

Not far from here is our old apartment. (…) a brother of fire and air.

In the next set of lines, the speaker brings the commonplace back to the forefront. This is juxtaposed with the image of the hero proceeding into hell at the end of the first stanza. She considers her past and the layout of the town. She speaks of “our old apartment”. Through the use of the first-person plural pronoun, the reader becomes aware that she’s directing her words to a specific listener, or that she is speaking for more than one person. Likely, the person with whom she shared her life in the town.  

In their house, they had simple furnishings and a view. Despite the basic surroundings, they discovered important things there. These include that “love had the feather and muscle of wings   / and had come to live with us”. Love is personified as something physical and recognizable. Boland makes use of traditional imagery , referencing an angelic presence, the “brother of fire and air”. This is another example of less exacting, more magical language. By moving back and forth between simple imagery and that which is more complex, the poet wants to speak about love as something transcendent and otherworldly. But, at the same time, as something present within the real world.  

We had two infant children one of whom (…) about a life they had shared and lost.

In the next lines of the second stanza, the speaker adds that she and her partner had “two infant children”. One of these kids was “touched by death,” but not taken. This is compared to how the hero was celebrated by those he knew in hell. A dramatic image ends this stanza with the speaker describing the hero’s comrades in hell attempting to speak but being unable to. All of these otherworldly scenes of drama and magic seem to be representative of some aspect of the poet’s own life. They relate in some tangential way to the life she was living and the mundanity of her town.  

Stanza Three  

I am your wife. (…) we speak plainly. We hear each other clearly.

The third stanza is only four lines long. It presents the reader with a number of short statements that very bluntly define what life was like “years ago”. They had a child, she was “your wife” and still, now, after time has passed, they still love one another. Their lives have settled down, allowing them to speak easily and clearly and hear one another correctly.  

Stanza Four  

And yet I want to return to you (…) and a car passing with its headlights on:

The fourth stanza is also four lines long. She confesses to a desire to “return to” her partner as he was in the past. The speaker remembers a specific memory, and the special kind of love she felt then and describes it in simple terms. She does not use emotional language, but it is clear the image is important.  

Stanza Five  

I see you as a hero in text– the image blazing and the edges gilded– (…) so formidable at rest it offered us ascension even to look at him?

In the fifth stanza of ‘Love,’ the speaker compares her partner to the “hero in a text”. She sees him as a “blazing” image on a golden page. This vision in her mind makes her regret the loss of their intense love of the past. It was degraded over the years, by fears and the common everyday practice of life.

The speaker asks her partner two rhetorical questions . The second is concerned with the previous feelings of “ascension” she once felt with this person. “He,” the personification of love, has yet to return in the form they once knew him.  

Stanza Six  

But the words are shadows and you cannot hear me. You walk away and I cannot follow

The last stanza is only two lines long. It concludes ‘Love’ solemnly and regretfully. But, at the same time, there’s an element of acceptance. She knows that she can’t go back to the past, nor can she force their emotions to return to a previous state. Now, the words she speaks are “shadow”. They touch and change nothing.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Poetry — Imagery in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Imagery in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

• Categories: Poetry The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

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Words: 2064 |

11 min read

Published: Oct 26, 2018

Words: 2064 | Pages: 4 | 11 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, imagery in “the love song of j. alfred prufrock”.

• Brown, A. (2018, March). A metaphorical analysis of the love song of J. Alfred Prufrock by TS Eliot. In Accounting Forum (Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 153-165). No longer published by Elsevier. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0155998217301679)
• Madlool, N. K. (2023). A Stylistic Analysis of TS Eliot's''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock''. Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities, 30(1, 1), 18-35. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367976615_A_Stylistic_Analysis_of_T_S_Eliot's_''The_Love_Song_of_J_Alfred_Prufrock'')
• Samy, S. (2021). A Cognitive Stylistic Analysis of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by TS Elliot. Academia Letters, 2. (https://www.academia.edu/49957478/A_Cognitive_Stylistic_Analysis_of_The_Love_Song_of_J_Alfred_Prufrock_by_T_S_Elliot)
• Browning, G. (1973). ELIOT'S THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK, 55-61. Explicator, 31(6). (https://www.proquest.com/openview/555486bd629d74c04a9af6d03054919c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821239)
• Anufrieva, M. (2012). “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons”–TS Eliot: A semantic analysis of selected metaphors in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by TS Eliot. (https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A530470&dswid=451)

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Love’s Philosophy ( AQA GCSE English Literature )

Revision note.

Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem - printed in full - and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

• The meaning of the poem
• The ideas and messages of the poet 
• How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
• How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology

Below is a guide to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Love’s Philosophy, from the Love and Relationships anthology. It includes:

• Overview : a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
• Writer’s Methods : an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
• Context : an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
• What to Compare it to : ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam

Love’s Philosophy is part of the Love and Relationships anthology of poems, and the exam question asks you to compare the ideas presented in two of these anthology poems, specifically related to the ideas of love and relationships. 

It is therefore as important that you learn how Love’s Philosophy compares and contrasts with other poems in the anthology as understanding the poem in isolation. See the section below on ‘What to Compare it to’ for detailed comparisons of Love’s Philosophy and other poems in the anthology.

In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell
• A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Shelley’s intention and message

Love’s Philosophy in a Nutshell

Love’s Philosophy, written by the Romantic  poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1820, conveys typical Romantic themes relating to the power of the natural world and intense emotion, in this case, unrequited love . In the poem, Shelley’s speaker shows the complex nature of relationships as he tries to seduce a potential lover.

Love’s Philosophy overview

“The fountains mingle with the river

 And the rivers with the Ocean,”

Translation

• The poem begins with an image relating to water: rivers and oceans and fountains mixing together

Shelley’s intention

• Shelley shows nature as harmonious

“The winds of Heaven mix for ever

  With a sweet emotion;” 

• Shelley now describes the wind mixing with the skies (“Heaven”)
• He describes this as pleasant, emotional and endless
• Here, Shelley links nature and emotion, creating a sensual  mood
• The lines introduce religious imagery  to strengthen his philosophical debate

“Nothing in the world is single;

 All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle.”

• The speaker explains that everything occurs as part of something else
• He asserts it is a holy rule of nature that things come together and become one
• These lines link to the title of the poem, Love’s Philosophy, as Shelley’s speaker asserts a simple message that love is governed by a sacred  law of nature
• Shelley alludes to Romantic ideas of the spiritual nature of love

“Why not I with thine?—”

• Here, the speaker directly addresses a silent listener in a persuasive appeal 
• He asks a question to his potential lover: if nature naturally “mingles” then why not the two of them?

Shelley’s intention  

•  The change in rhythm stresses Shelley’s question and suggests the desperation of unrequited love

“See the mountains kiss high heaven

  And the waves clasp one another;”

• The speaker instructs the listener to look at how the mountains and the sky touch, and how the waves seem to be embracing
• Here, Shelley’s speaker directs the listener to see nature linked to intimate, physical love

Lines 11-12

“No sister-flower would be forgiven

   If it disdained its brother;”

• The speaker seems to be suggesting that the sister-flower is the listener and he is the brother
• He suggests strongly that it would be sinful to turn him away
• The speaker again argues that love is natural and innocent using natural imagery  and allusion to siblings
• Shelley again refers to morality  to strengthen his persuasive argument

Lines 13-14

“And the sunlight clasps the earth

 And the moonbeams kiss the sea:”

• The speaker presents another reason for the listener to kiss him
• He explains the sun and the earth are connected in the same way as the moonlight shines on the ocean
• The speaker describes powerful contrasting imagery   to show the natural connection between day and night 
• Shelley connects the sensual imagery of nature with love to show love’s simple and natural nature

Lines 15-16

“What is all this sweet work worth

 If thou kiss not me?”

• Shelley’s poem ends with a rhetorical question  to close the speaker’s argument
• The speaker argues that all the work nature does (and that he has done persuading them) would be wasted if they do not kiss him
• The rhetorical question is ambiguous  to end his persuasion with a playful, yet desperate tone
• Although the speaker’s argument describes love as simple and natural, the poem ends unresolved , suggesting the complex nature of his love

Your exam question will ask you to compare how poets present ideas about love and/or relationships in the poem given to you on the exam paper and one other from the Love and Relationships anthology. It is therefore a good idea to begin your answer using the wording of the question and summarising what the poem tells us about the nature of love or relationships. This demonstrates that you have understood the poem and the poet’s intention. For example, “Shelley presents ideas about complex relationships by presenting a love that is unrequited. Similar themes can be found in…”

Writer’s Methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Shelley’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:

The last thing examiners want to see is what they call “technique spotting”. This is when students use overly sophisticated terminology unnecessarily (“polysyndeton”; “epanalepsis”), without explaining their analysis.

Knowing the names of sophisticated techniques will not gain you any more marks, especially if these techniques are only “spotted” and the poet’s intentions for this language is not explained. Instead of technique spotting, focus your analysis on the reasons why the poet is presenting their ideas in the way that they do: what is their message? What ideas are they presenting, or challenging?

The speaker’s seduction of his prospective lover by showing everything as connected and paired is reflected in the harmonious two stanza  structure. The regular rhyme indicates a controlled and considered tone as the speaker makes his desperate plea. 

The poem follows a complex argument which shows the speaker’s manipulative control as he persuades his listener to give in to desire.

Shelley’s poem, Love’s Philosophy, symbolises nature as loving and harmonious in a bid to persuade a potential partner to see love as a law of nature. His philosophical language mixes with natural imagery   and physical imagery  to present these ideas as connected. 

Try not to separate “language”, “form” and “structure” into three separate elements you need to include in your answer. To achieve top marks, you need to include an integrated  comparison of the themes and ideas in this and the other poems in the anthology, and focus on the relevance of the method used by the poet to the ideas in the poem(s). This means it is better to structure your answer around an exploration of the ideas and themes in the poems, commenting on elements of language, form or structure that contribute to the presentation of these themes, rather than simply listing all of the key methods you think should be covered when writing about poetry (with no analysis or exploration of their relevance to the themes and ideas). Stay focused on the task, and then choose your comments based on the focus of the question.

Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Percy Bysshe Shelley or the Romantic  movement which is unrelated to the ideas in Love’s Philosophy. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Shelley in Love’s Philosophy that relate to love and relationships. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Shelley explores:

• Unrequited love

Complex relationships

Unrequited Love

• Love’s Philosophy, by Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was written in 1820
• Romantic poets wrote about the power of nature at a time when science and industry were advancing rapidly: this was seen as rebellious
• In this poem, Shelley’s Romantic philosophies about nature are used to seduce a reluctant listener into a physical relationship which mimics nature
• Romantic poets believe in the importance of emotion, freedom and self-fulfilment 
• This poem encourages the listener to abandon themselves to physical pleasure
• It argues that the physical nature of intimacy is a natural law in order to convince a listener to surrender to his kiss, very typical of Romantic philosophies
• Shelley was considered revolutionary for his ideas about the world, including atheism
• His poem shows the complex nature of relationships by using traditional, archaic language (which suggests a sense of conformity ) to elevate his argument, and philosophise  about love
• His reference to religion and law adds weight to his sophisticated plea
• This is more typical of traditional love poetry which was melodramatic and often presented love as complex and painful
• Shelley’s poem mixes the form of a traditional ballad  with a persuasive argument to show the complexity of relationships
• By using the rhythm of a ballad Shelley’s tone becomes emotional
• However, the poem’s form takes on a logical argument in a bid to influence the listener with rationale , in opposition to Romantic ideals

Remember, AO3 is only worth up to 6 marks in this question. You will be expected to demonstrate your understanding of the relationship between the poem and the context in which it was written in an integrated  way, throughout your answer. It is therefore important to focus on the key themes, and have a thorough knowledge of the cluster of poems. 

Context comes from the key word in the task, so your answer should emphasise the key themes of the effects of desire and love. Writing a whole paragraph about Romantic poets is not an integrated approach, and will not achieve high marks.

What to Compare it to

The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that Love’s Philosophy explores the ideas of complex relationships , romantic love and desire, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

Love’s Philosophy and Porphyria’s Lover

Love’s Philosophy and Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ 

Love’s Philosophy and The Farmer’s Bride

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• The comparison in a nutshell
• Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
• Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

You will be expected to not only explore this poem in depth, but make perceptive comparisons to themes, language, form and structure used in other poems in the anthology that also comment on complex relationships, romantic love and desire. It is therefore important that you have a thorough knowledge of all of the poems, rather than just memorising a series of quotations. It is also essential that you not only write about the named poem, but compare it to one other in the anthology. Only writing about the poem given on the paper will severely limit your marks.

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Shelley’s Love’s Philosophy and Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover convey the speaker’s intense feelings, as well as a sense of intention and power, in their response to desire. However, Shelley’s speaker explores natural abandonment and the power of unity, while Browning’s obsessive narrator depicts possessive and destructive love.

Similarities:

Differences:

It is a good idea to outline your choice of second poem in your introduction to your response, with a clear overview of the overarching themes within both poems. You can then use the theme to move between both poems to provide the substance to illustrate your arguments. However, this does not mean that you cannot focus on one poem first, and then the other, linking ideas back to the main poem. You should choose whichever structure suits you best, as long as comparison is embedded and ideas for both texts are well-developed.

This is an effective comparative choice to explore desire and longing within complex romantic relationships. Both Shelley’s Love Philosophy and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ consider physical unity as a natural part of love, and present strong emotions when this is denied them.

 Differences:

Both Shelley’s Love’s Philosophy and Mew’s The Farmer’s Bride convey powerful feelings of longing and desire in frustrated romantic relationships. They both suggest a power imbalance which leads to a lack of resolution . 

You can choose whichever poem you feel you are able to make the most in-depth comparisons to in the exam. For example, you could choose to compare the presentation of longing and desire in Love’s Philosophy and The Farmer’s Bride. Or you might wish to explore the idea of physical love as a natural force in Love’s Philosophy and Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ What is important is that you view the poems thematically, with a clear emphasis on love and relationships. This will give you a better framework in which to write your response in the exam.

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Author: Sam Evans

Sam is a graduate in English Language and Literature, specialising in journalism and the history and varieties of English. Before teaching, Sam had a career in tourism in South Africa and Europe. After training to become a teacher, Sam taught English Language and Literature and Communication and Culture in three outstanding secondary schools across England. Her teaching experience began in nursery schools, where she achieved a qualification in Early Years Foundation education. Sam went on to train in the SEN department of a secondary school, working closely with visually impaired students. From there, she went on to manage KS3 and GCSE English language and literature, as well as leading the Sixth Form curriculum. During this time, Sam trained as an examiner in AQA and iGCSE and has marked GCSE English examinations across a range of specifications. She went on to tutor Business English, English as a Second Language and international GCSE English to students around the world, as well as tutoring A level, GCSE and KS3 students for educational provisions in England. Sam freelances as a ghostwriter on novels, business articles and reports, academic resources and non-fiction books.

Gus Walz broke the internet with his tearful love for his dad. Then the bullying began

CHICAGO – A tearful, unscripted moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has unleashed a flood of praise and admiration – but also prompted ugly online bullying.

Gus Walz , who has a nonverbal learning disorder as well as anxiety and ADHD, watched excitedly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and sobbed openly Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic nominee for vice president, delivered his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

The Minnesota governor was recounting the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, went through to conceive their daughter, Hope.

More: Tim Walz's son Gus has a learning disorder. Can his visibility help disabled Americans?

DNC live updates: Kamala Harris to formally accept nomination

Walz followed up by expressing his love for his family from the stage, saying: "Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world. And I love you."

Gus Walz jumped up from his seat, tears on his face, pointed his index finger and said, “I love you, Dad,” followed soon after with "That's my dad!"

The touching moment between father and son, captured live by television cameras, went viral and has largely been received adoringly on the internet and the airwaves.

Fox News shared a clip of the viral moment on its TikTok page , writing "Gus Walz steals show during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were overwhelmingly positive.

“I hope to inspire my kids so much that when they see me speak of the dreams and passion I have for my country they are moved to tears like Gus Walz was,” Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, wrote on X.

“@Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly exceeded in being an excellent, supportive, and loving father every step of the way,” he wrote. “We should all be so lucky to know a love like that.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who spoke before Walz Wednesday night, praised the love between Walz and his children.

More: Who is Gus Walz and what is a non-verbal learning disorder?

“You know you’ve done well as a parent when your kids are as proud of you as Gus and Hope are of Tim Walz,” she wrote on X. “’That’s my dad.’ No three words better describe our next Vice President.”

Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face streaming tears of pride shouted ‘That’s my dad’ he won my heart.”

Trump supporter and podcaster dismisses Gus Walz as 'puffy beta male'

But the show of affection triggered a swath of snark and ugly comments on social media, many from MAGA supporters of former President Donald Trump, who faces Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Walz in November.

Conservative columnist and right-wing provocateur Ann Coulter mocked the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird,” she wrote on X. The message has since been deleted.

Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and podcaster from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and added, “You raised your kid to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”

Alec Lace, a Trump supporter who hosts a podcast about fatherhood, took his own swipe at the teenager: “Get that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, an apparent reference to a Minnesota state law that Walz signed as governor in that required schools to provide free menstrual supplies to students.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Jay Weber, a conservative Milwaukee radio host, made a now-deleted post on X criticizing the Walz family.

"If the Walzs (sic) represent today's American man, this country is screwed: 'Meet my son, Gus. He's a blubbering b---- boy. His mother and I are very proud'."

After removing the post, Weber apologized and claimed he didn't know Gus had a learning disability.

USA TODAY reached out to the Walz campaign, which declined to comment.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung released a statement to USA TODAY that said the campaign "is focused on holding Walz and Harris accountable for their dangerously liberal policies that are bad for America." It didn't address the bullying posts.

Trump came under fire in 2015 after he appeared to mock a New York Times reporter with a disability. Critics said Trump's taunts could encourage others to engage in similar behavior.

Posts reflect bullying kids face constantly, advocates say

Advocates for children with learning disabilities were outraged by the venom directed at the Walz family.

“What we're seeing with the bullying of Gus Walz online isn't just cruel – it's a painful reminder of what kids with disabilities face every single day,” said Katy Neas, chief executive officer of The Arc of the United States , a Washington-based nonprofit advocacy group for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Children with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than their peers, Neas said.

“That means our society is teaching countless kids with disabilities that they are somehow less than because of factors outside of their control, including emotional expression and disability,” she said. “What's worse is that bullying can have a direct impact on their academic achievement, which in turn means fewer opportunities as adults. We're failing these kids when we don't understand or value their experiences.”

Research shows that bullying behavior often stems from a combination of factors, such as a desire for social dominance, a lack of empathy, or modeling of aggressive behaviors at home, said Kristen Eccleston, a former special education teacher and advocate for children with social-emotional needs.

“Children with learning disabilities are especially vulnerable because bullies may perceive them as ‘easy targets’ due to their struggles with communication or social skills," said Eccleston, who works for the Weinfeld Education Group, which is based in Bethesda, Maryland, and works with parents to ensure that their children have the supports and services they need.

More: 'That's my dad!': Gus Walz has emotional reaction during Tim Walz's DNC speech

“As parents, it's heartbreaking to see our children suffer from such cruelty,” Eccleston said. “In moments like Gus', where a child is being bullied, it's crucial to surround them with love, validate their emotions, and remind them that the hurtful opinions of others do not determine their worth. Families should use these public experiences to foster open dialogue about emotions, with the goal of helping their child develop strong self-advocacy skills and a healthy sense of self.”

Anne Strober, whose son has autism, said the bullying Gus Walz is facing is despicable.

“For me, it just represents how a lot of people have lost their humanity,” she said. “You have a lot of people, now with social media, who feel very emboldened because they’re behind their keyboards and they can just say what they need to say and with a degree of anonymity. It’s still hurtful whether it’s face to face or it’s online. There’s no place for it.”

Public schools often aren’t able to stop acts of bullying, so parents who fear for their children’s safety often pull them out of school or choose to home-school them, said Strober, who lives in North Potomac, Maryland, and works with parents through the Weinfeld Education Group.

"Children should be off limits to bullying, especially by adults, no matter what political party their parents belong to,” she said. "Gus isn't going to see all of their hateful comments, but other kids will. And it will absolutely hurt them and their families.”

Contributing: Brianne Pfannenstiel , Des Moines Register

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What happened to kendall at the ‘love island usa’ reunion nicole breaks silence on video leak.

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LOVE ISLAND USA — Episode 633 — Pictured: (l-r) Kendall Washington, Nicole Jacky — (Photo by: Kim ... [+] Nunneley/Peacock via Getty Images)

Love Island USA stars Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington are facing a rocky post-villa journey since the show ended. The dramatic August 19 reunion special on Peacock brought the couple's struggles to the surface, including Washington’s NSFW video that leaked after the finale.

Jacky and Washington, who finished fourth in the Season 6 finale in July, told outlets like Us Weekly that they planned to pursue a long-distance relationship after the show.

“It’s good that she lives in California because I have a lot of family there — my sister and my mom are in California. So it’s a win-win situation when I go there, I get to see Nicole and I also get to see my family,” Kendall told the site last month. “I know my family eventually wants me to move back to California so my mom, specifically, is excited that Nicole is from there.”

At the reunion, when host Ariana Madix inquired about their relationship, Jacky revealed that they were facing difficulties after Washington lied about sending explicit videos of himself to someone on a dating app. “It’s been a bit tough on the outside,” Washington began, “Just trying to communicate — ”

“Communicate? You have not been communicating,” Jacky replied. “You never have been.” Washington explained that the couple were trying to “give each other space,” but Jacky cut him off. “After you lied to my face?”

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Wwe smackdown results, winners and grades on august 23, 2024, 3 ‘self-control’ strategies to master your impulses—by a psychologist, kendall and nicole both address the nsfw video leak.

LOVE ISLAND USA — Episode 624 — Pictured: (l-r) Kendall Washington, Nicole Jacky — (Photo by: Ben ... [+] Symons/Peacock via Getty Images)

One of the most emotional moments during their heated exchange happened when Washington’s NSFW video came up. On air, Jacky broke her silence on the leaked video of Washington nude in a hotel room, which surfaced on the same day as the Season 6 finale.

“I just want to say something. Obviously, the video is not OK. Nobody deserves that. Everybody in this room can agree, it’s f–ked up,” Jacky explained. She went on to express her frustration over Washington’s dishonesty about when the incident happened and who it occurred with.

“However, I think if you say you love somebody, in the moment, when you’re telling me about something you need to be honest. Instead of saying it’s from years ago to someone you trusted — an ex-girlfriend — and then I find out two days later from JaNa [Craig] that it was in the hotel room before you go on the show to someone on a dating app is crazy.”

How Did Kendall Respond About The Leaked Video At First?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 14: Kendall Washington attends the "Love Island USA: The Reunion" photo ... [+] call at Chelsea Studios on August 14, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images)

Washington initially addressed the release of his private videos on social media last month. At the time, he said it was leaked by someone he trusted.

“What a way to get my phone back y’all,” Kendall said via his Instagram Stories on July 22. “I just want to address the content that came out from my past. That was something I shared to someone in confidence and trust. It’s unfortunate that it’s no longer private but it is what it is.”

However, during the reunion, Washington admitted to lying about when exactly the video was taken. “I should’ve told Nicole the full truth [about] when it happened and I didn’t,” he told Madix at the reunion.

Are Kendall And Jacky Still Together?

LOVE ISLAND USA — Episode 622 — Pictured: (l-r) Kendall Washington, Nicole Jacky — (Photo by: Ben ... [+] Symons/Peacock via Getty Images)

After the NSFW video came to light, Jacky alleged that Washington distanced himself and only reached out to her when it suited him. Despite the tension, the couple confirmed that they are still together.

“This just puts me in such a f–ked position because I care you about too and I love you and people are questioning that,” Nicole said. “Even though you let the world think we’re not together, we’re still together.”

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Love Medicine

Water imagery and symbolism in love medicine madeline bilbra college.

Louise Erdrich’s novel Love Medicine conveys the state of Native American life in today’s society. Her symbolism stands out to me above all else in the book. While Erdrich uses many symbols and motifs, the most poignant is her water and river imagery and the symbolism behind it. She uses water to symbolize many concepts in the novel, most prominently time and religion. The passage of time being likened to the movement of a river is not an unprecedented idea due to the endless flow of a river being easily equated with time. However, Erdrich points out the destructive force that such a power of nature has and likens the people in her story to stones on a riverbed. Through symbolism, she illustrates the effect time and religion have had on Native American society and how those two concepts, as eroding forces, are simply consequences of modern American society’s effect on Native American culture.

The most prominent example of Erdrich’s symbolism can be found in Nector Kashpaw’s realization and acknowledgement of the passage of time as she illustrates time and its effect on the characters of the novel. In a moment of peace, Nector has a revelation that changes his life. As the world around him stills, Nector sees time rushing past...

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Guest Essay

My Son and Gus Walz Deserve a Champion Like Tim Walz

By Tina Brown

Ms. Brown is the author, most recently, of “The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor — the Truth and the Turmoil."

The sight at the Democratic convention on Wednesday night of Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son leaping to his feet, with streaming eyes, a hand to his chest with a cry of “That’s my Dad” was heart piercing.

As the mother of Georgie, a 38-year-old on the spectrum who still lives with me, I recognized him immediately as one of “ours,” a sweet, unfiltered, slightly bewildered-looking young man who wasn’t quite sure what was expected of him in this epic moment of political adulation.

Gus Walz has, according to his parents, a nonverbal learning disorder, A.D.H.D. and an anxiety disorder, all of which they regard not as a setback but as his “secret power,” that makes him “brilliant” and “hyperaware.”

I know exactly what they mean. One of the joys of my life in the social churn of New York is living with a son whose inability to read the room makes him incapable of telling anything but the truth. Once, as my husband, Harry Evans, and I left a pretentious social gathering in the Hamptons, Georgie told the host sunnily: “Thank you very much. No one spoke to me really, so it was a very boring evening. The food was OK. I doubt I will come again.”

“I have never been prouder of you in my life!” shouted my husband in the car. How many times have all of us wanted to say that as we gushed about the fabulous time we just hadn’t had? Then there was the moment he went up to Anna Wintour at one of my book parties and asked if she was Camilla Parker Bowles. And the time at the intake meeting for a supported work program, when the therapist asked Georgie, “Has anyone ever molested you?” “Unfortunately not,” he replied. Georgie teaches me every day how much we depend on social lies to make the world go round. His sister — his forever best friend — and I feel so lucky to have him in our lives. So did his dad, who died in 2020.

And yet for people who are different and have no support, the world can be bleak. Their loneliness can be agonizing. Some people assume the school days are the hardest, but it’s the years after that are the social desert. Having a friendly, forgiving workplace to go to is critical. It’s often their only taste of community and what makes them such reliable and rewarding employees. The work from home movement has been a killer for people with special needs, often depriving them of the only social connections they have.

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