Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In “What Is Love,” Robert Creeley presents an intimate and visceral exploration of love, portraying it as a sensation that engages the body entirely, narrowing one’s focus to the immediacy of physical and emotional presence. Through concise, sensory language, Creeley captures the way love consumes the self, centering all attention on a single, all-encompassing experience. The poem's minimalist form and straightforward language underscore the simplicity and yet profound depth of this emotional state, suggesting that love, in its essence, is both overwhelming and deeply grounding.

The poem opens with the question “What is love— / so complete.” This simple line, with its open-ended inquiry, invites readers to ponder the nature of love along with the poet. The phrase “so complete” suggests that love, whatever it may be, brings a sense of wholeness or fulfillment that transcends intellectual understanding. By positioning love as “complete,” Creeley implies that love has the power to make one feel entirely engaged, as if all aspects of being are involved. This completeness hints at a unity or oneness that stands apart from other experiences, setting love apart as something uniquely immersive.

Creeley then proceeds to describe love through various physical sensations: “feet also / are engaged, / nose turns / to look, eyes / find hands, / ears burn.” These bodily responses convey the all-encompassing nature of love as something that captures every part of the self, even the seemingly trivial or unnoticed aspects of the body. The line “feet also / are engaged” suggests that love is something that grounds us, connecting us to the physical world while drawing all senses to a central focus. By engaging the feet, Creeley implies that love stabilizes and roots the individual, making it a grounding force amidst life’s complexities.

The line “nose turns / to look, eyes / find hands” brings a sense of curiosity and attentiveness to the poem, as if love causes one to become acutely aware of the beloved. The act of turning, looking, and seeking with the eyes emphasizes the magnetic pull of love, compelling the individual to orient themselves toward the object of their affection. Creeley’s use of these sensory actions highlights love as an instinctual response that guides our movements and focuses our attention. The physicality of these actions—turning, looking, finding—illustrates love as a series of instinctive motions, drawing one’s attention closer and closer to the beloved, almost like a gravitational pull.

The phrase “ears burn” introduces a more intense, perhaps anxious element, as if love’s presence creates both excitement and discomfort. The sensation of burning ears is often associated with awareness, embarrassment, or heightened alertness, suggesting that love can make one feel self-conscious or vulnerable. This detail adds complexity to the poem’s portrayal of love, acknowledging that while love is immersive and fulfilling, it also exposes one to a heightened sensitivity and awareness of oneself and the other. This burning sensation might also symbolize the raw, electric energy of love, a force that is both exhilarating and overwhelming.

The final line, “all a smaller / focus,” encapsulates the essence of Creeley’s portrayal of love. In describing love as “a smaller focus,” he implies that love narrows the individual’s attention, drawing everything inward toward the beloved. This phrase suggests that love, in its intensity, makes the vast world recede, leaving only the immediate, intimate experience. The “smaller focus” reflects how love centers one’s awareness, making the complexities and distractions of life fade in the face of this singular connection. Creeley suggests that love, in its most profound form, simplifies existence, distilling life down to the essential, immediate presence of another.

Structurally, “What Is Love” is brief and direct, reflecting the clarity and focus of love itself. The lack of punctuation and Creeley’s choice to break lines after each sensory description create a rhythmic flow that mirrors the immediacy of each sensation. This fragmented structure reinforces the idea that love is an experience felt through a series of individual, embodied moments rather than a single, unified feeling. The poem’s form, with each line offering a distinct physical response, mirrors the way love captures different aspects of one’s attention, drawing every sense into its orbit.

In “What Is Love,” Robert Creeley captures the experience of love as something that fully consumes and grounds the individual. Through sensory imagery, he illustrates how love narrows one’s focus, transforming the ordinary into a vivid, intimate experience. Each bodily response—engaged feet, turning nose, seeking eyes, burning ears—adds to the sense of love as an overwhelming yet deeply centering force. Creeley’s poem suggests that love’s power lies in its ability to command our attention and narrow our world to a singular focus, creating a sense of completeness and purpose that stands apart from other experiences. In its simplicity, the poem conveys the profound depth of love as a state of being fully present, fully alive, and fully engaged in the immediacy of connection.

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