Love Poetry Basics

Love Poetry: The Basic Elements

Love poetry has been around as long as people have been able to compose words on a page. From the famous sonnets of Shakespeare to the epic works of Lord Byron to the thrilling song lyrics of some contemporary song writers, love poetry has been a part of human expression for centuries.

Of all the love poems ever written, some are more famous than others. Shakespeare of course is one of the best writers who ever lived. His sonnets were most often on the subject of love. Sometimes he wrote about love in a beautiful way and sometimes in a more negative or disparaging way. One of his most beautiful love sonnets is Shall I Compare Thee, (Sonnet XVIII). It begins with the lines: “Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? / Thou are more lovely and more temperate,” which most people have heard many times.

Another wonderful writer who wrote many works on the subject of love is Lord Byron. This poet and ladies’ man wrote another of the most famous love poems ever penned, called She Walks in Beauty. It begins like this: “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.” It goes on to describe the object of his affection in terms of her sweetness and innocence using glowing imagery.

The poet Robert Burns wrote what may be the most quoted of all love poems, A Red, Red Rose. This poem is quoted often, though today it is often to show the idea of an old and familiar saying that one should avoid in writing. But the classic lines are worth remembering: “O my luve's like a red, red rose / That's newly sprung in June.”

Another legendary writer of love poetry is Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She and husband Robert Browning wrote countless love poems to one another in letters over a period of several years. The results yielded some of our most treasured poems. Her love poem, How Do I Love Thee?, is one of her most famous. It begins: “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.” Almost everyone is familiar with that initial question.

Finally, Christopher Marlowe, a classic poet who wrote on a number of lofty subjects, wrote one of the most romantic love poems. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love is an enticement to a young maiden and begins like this: “Come live with me and be my love, / And we will all the pleasures prove / That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, / Woods or steepy mountain yields.” This is a classic example of how to promise someone the world.