Duet

This poem is a rich exploration of love, nature, and the dualities of existence. It is structured as a dialogue, a form that allows for both questioning and responding, mirroring the poet's internal questioning of love and its impacts. The dialogue structure also adds a rhythmic, almost sing-song quality to the poem, enhancing its emotive appeal.

The poem's primary theme is love, depicted as a force of nature, "born of the deep coming up with the sun from the sea." This image of love emerging with the dawn and from the depths of the ocean suggests both a new beginning and a profound, almost unfathomable depth. The use of natural elements like wind, dawn, the deep sea, and the sun reinforce this idea of love as an elemental, natural force that's both transformative and potentially destructive.

The tone of the poem alternates between questioning, apprehension, acceptance, and ultimately, an embrace of this powerful force of love. The speaker oscillates between fearing love's power to "shape or shatter a life" and welcoming it as a force that can "lift up a life from the dead." This dichotomy underscores the complexity and ambivalence of human emotions towards love.

The standout literary devices in this poem are its use of metaphor and personification. Love is personified as a sovereign entity, capable of ruling and reshaping life. The metaphor of the "lone little isle" could symbolize the individual heart or soul, which the speaker initially wants to protect from the invasive, transformative power of love. However, by the end of the poem, the speaker accepts and even welcomes love's dominion, echoing a universal human longing for connection and transformation through love.