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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
Donald Justice’s poem “Love’s Map” intricately explores the intimate connection between a lover’s face and the dream-like landscapes of memory and imagination. Through concise and evocative language, the poem reflects on how a beloved’s face can serve as a map to the hidden, half-remembered places of the mind. The poem begins with a direct address to the beloved: “Your face more than others' faces / Maps the half-remembered places.” This opening line sets the tone for the poem, emphasizing the unique significance of the lover’s face. The use of the word “maps” suggests that the beloved’s face serves as a guide or a key to these mysterious and forgotten places. Justice then delves into the realm of dreams: “I have come to while I slept / -Continents a dream had kept / Secret from all waking folk.” The imagery of continents kept secret by dreams highlights the vast, uncharted territories within the subconscious mind. These places are not accessible to those who are awake, emphasizing the unique and personal nature of the dreamscape that the speaker experiences. The poem continues with the revelation brought by the beloved’s face: “Till to your face I awoke / And remembered then the shore, / And the dark interior.” This concluding couplet reveals that upon seeing the beloved’s face, the speaker is reminded of these hidden places. The mention of “the shore” and “the dark interior” suggests both the familiar and the unknown aspects of these remembered landscapes. The shore represents a boundary or a starting point, while the dark interior implies deeper, more mysterious realms. “Love’s Map” by Donald Justice beautifully captures the idea that a lover’s face can evoke profound and intimate memories and dreams. Through its elegant and concise language, the poem explores how love can serve as a bridge to the subconscious, bringing to light the hidden and half-remembered places within the mind. The beloved’s face becomes a map, guiding the speaker through the landscapes of memory and imagination, ultimately revealing the deep connection between love and the inner world.
| Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...POEM FOR A YOUNG POET by JUNE JORDAN WHEN WE LOOK UP by DENISE LEVERTOV HISTORY OF MY FACE by KHALED MATTAWA WOMAN IN FRONT OF POSTER OF HERSELF by ALICE NOTLEY THE HOUSE OF DUST: 1 by CONRAD AIKEN LOOKING AT AGING FACES by ROBERT BLY WHAT MAKES THIS STATUE NOBLE SEEMING by KENNETH KOCH DOMESDAY BOOK: ANTON SOSNOWSKI by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |
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