Juxtaposition In Marriage

Love is an impossible quest filled with turmoil and unwarranted aggression. An intangible entity that most rational beings would agree with. However, reaching a near state of nirvana with another through love is such a beautiful and fulfilling emotion that it is almost worth it. The poems written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, and Christina Rossetti all capitalize on showing how beautiful and powerful love is; this is made possible through the strong use of visual imagery, metaphors, and irony. In "Sonnets From the Portuguese #32," Elizabeth Barrett Browning describes the insecurities she experiences during the initial phase of a hasty marriage. Browning utilizes metaphors and contrasting words to convey the doubts she experiences

Throughout the poem, Rossetti expresses how opposed she is towards the idea of marriage by comparing marriage to a game, "let us hold the die uncast," which means she views it as a gamble not worth taking (Rossetti). Furthermore, the narrator believes if they were to get married she would "fret to break the chain" (Rossetti). In this case, the chain is a metaphor for wedding vows. She continues to reject marriage when she states she only wants friendship "nothing more but nothing less," the juxtaposition places emphasis on her refusal of marriage. From her usage of figurative language, the readers can infer the narrator's fears of marriage, which signifies being bounded by marriage. She is strongly in love with the man but does not want it to be ruined by chains bounding them together for eternity. The narrator's feelings towards promises are clearly depicted through her metaphors, she views them as flaky as pie-crust, thus there is no point in making them. Therefore, placing emphasis on the theme of the poem, that those promises are easy to make but just as easy to break. Rossetti's usage of juxtaposition and metaphors helps to contribute to the tone of the poem as it portrays the passion she feels towards staying single. As well as contributing to the theme of love by depicting the fears of love, which causes her to deny

The speaker in Elizabeth's sonnets experiences the insecurities of the nature of love, which causes her to demote her self-worth. However, Robert Browning is able to reassure her and truly love her for who she is. The Duke of Robert Browning's poem experienced the jealousy nature of love, which causes him to become possessive and controlling as he wants her to be exclusively his. The speaker in Rossetti's poem fears the nature of love so strongly, she refuses to even start a relationship. Although the poems varied in content, the speakers had the same general understanding of love and the turmoil that came with love. The speaker in Robert Browning's poem allowed the turmoil of love to take over his sanity completely. Meanwhile, Rossetti's speaker completely rejected commitment out of love due to the fears of the nature of love. Elizabeth Browning's speaker was the only one that was able to overcome the turmoil of love, instead of letting it consume her like Robert Browning's poem. The effects of the nature of love on human beings can drive them to make unreasonable decisions and perform unreasonable actions. Love can bring human's the highest of highs, as well as, the lowest of lows. These feelings of the speakers were portrayed to their readers through the usage of visual imagery, metaphors, and irony. Through