Beale Street Love Love Quotes

This isn't just any old love, Shmoopers. It's Beale Street love.

Yep. We realize we just gave you a one-word quote. But it's the perfect word, you have to admit. What's key here is that this word sets the tone for a very different poem than the one we end up reading. We're expecting romance, but we're met with violence.

Our speaker comes right out and tells us that Beale Street love is a fist, and it's ready to do some major harm. It's a surprising metaphor, and it begs the question. Is the fist figurative? Or is the speaker arguing that on Beale Street, love is physically violent?