Love Among the Ruins

What do we know about this poem?What does the title tell us?

This poem is spoken by a shepherd in the Italian countryside, near a ruined city. His beloved is waiting for him amongst the ruins.

The shepherd is alone and we hear his musings.

The poem moves from a description of the landscape as it appears in the present to how it was in the past. It then moves to thoughts about the young man’s lover and fuses together the past and present in the final stanza. It emphasises the contrast between material wealth, which doesn’t last, and love, which is eternal.

Context: This poem is about...

What do we know about love in Victorian times?

Context: Pastoral Poetry• The poem is meant to evoke the pastoral poetry of John

Milton and Edmund Spenser• In a time of industrialisation, they emphasised the beauty

of nature, often focusing on farm workers (mostly shepherds)

• These works were highly idealised and often unrealistic• Similar celebrations of nature are found in the works of

the Romantic poets, by whom Browning was inspired

Likely inspiration for Location: Roman Campagna – occupied during Roman times but abandoned due to malaria

Language

Where the quiet-coloured end of evening smiles, Miles and milesOn the solitary pastures where our sheep Half-asleep Tinkle homeward thro' the twilight, stray or stop 5 As they crop– Was the site once of a city great and gay, (So they say) Of our country's very capital, its prince Ages since 10Held his court in, gathered councils, wielding far Peace or war.

Now, -- the country does not even boast a tree, As you see, To distinguish slopes of verdure, certain rills 15 From the hills Intersect and give a name to, (else they run Into one) Where the domed and daring palace shot its spires Up like fires 20O'er the hundred-gated circuit of a wall Bounding all, Made of marble, men might march on nor be pressed Twelve abreast.

small streamsgreenery

And such plenty and perfection, see, of grass 25 Never was! Such a carpet as, this summer-time, o'er-spreads And embeds Every vestige of the city, guessed alone, Stock or stone– 30Where a multitude of men breathed joy and woe Long ago; Lust of glory pricked their hearts up, dread of shame Struck them tame; And that glory and that shame alike, the gold 35 Bought and sold.

Smallest amount (emphasises the absence of something)

tree stump/ remains of a pillar

Now--the single little turret that remains On the plains, By the caper over-rooted, by the gourd Overscored, 40While the patching houseleek's head of blossom winks Through the chinks– Marks the basement whence a tower in ancient time Sprang sublime, And a burning ring, all round, the chariots traced 45 As they raced, And the monarch and his minions and his dames Viewed the games.

shrubfruit from a pumpkin-like plant

plant with fleshy leaves and pink flowers

followers, servants

And I know, while thus the quiet-coloured eve Smiles to leave 50To their folding, all our many-tinkling fleece In such peace,And the slopes and rills in undistinguished grey Melt away– That a girl with eager eyes and yellow hair 55 Waits me there In the turret whence the charioteers caught soul For the goal, When the king looked, where she looks now, breathless, dumb Till I come. 60

But he looked upon the city, every side, Far and wide, All the mountains topped with temples, all the glades' Colonnades, All the causeys, bridges, aqueducts,--and then 65 All the men! When I do come, she will speak not, she will stand, Either hand On my shoulder, give her eyes the first embrace Of my face, 70Ere we rush, ere we extinguish sight and speech Each on each.

causeways (raised roads)

In one year they sent a million fighters forth South and North, And they built their gods a brazen pillar high 75 As the sky Yet reserved a thousand chariots in full force– Gold, of course. O heart! oh blood that freezes, blood that burns! Earth's returns 80For whole centuries of folly, noise and sin! Shut them in, With their triumphs and their glories and the rest! Love is best.

“Love is Best”

• Anticipated by the title of the poem• Clear and simple• Celebrates love as a pure emotion that transcends

human desire, corruption and power• Love is placed alongside nature as conqueror and

sustainer• As the speaker spends most of the poem musing

about the ruins rather than his waiting love, this statement seems like a passionate choice, not just a meaningless utterance

Imagery

• Gold – symbol of lust, corruption and sin• Fire – symbol of the town’s power and

destruction (irony: nature overcomes)• Love – eternal, pure and everlasting• Turret – ruins, symbol of corruption and

human vanity• Sheep – symbols of peace, calm and

contentment

Form

• Monologue, but the shepherd is alone (cf. Soliloquy)• Does he speak the poem aloud or is this an internal

monologue?• The speaker is preoccupied with history, highlighting

an emphasis on time and change• Pastoral poems usually idealised the past against

the ruin of the present. This poem does the opposite.

• Title: love is constant against the rise and fall of civilisations (cf. Ozymandias)

Structure

• Stanzas 1-5: begins by describing present pastoral scene, then flashes back to ancient Roman city

• Stanzas 6-7: order is reversed – starts with ancient city, then moves to present day

• This reversal facilitates the speaker’s dismissal of the Roman scene (it is replaced by a love scene), paralleling Browning’s theme that ultimately love is what prevails.

• Final line: “love is best”

Structure

• Seven 12 line stanzas• Rhyme scheme: aabbccdd (rhyming couplets)

– jaunty, reflecting the relatively light-hearted nature of the poem

• Long trochaic lines (TRO-chee) are paired with short lines of three syllables: this is an original meter which Browning invented. What is the effect of this meter?

How does the poem develop the theme of nature’s power? Use

examples from the text to illustrate your answer.